Modoc turned to Lathar and blew a sigh of relief...
"Well, that was something!"
Modoc looked Lathar up and down...
"Is that normal out here in the wild?! I have to say, I have never seen such a thing from streets of city before! Should we be concerned? Or even waste the time investigating such things?"
Oddly enough I think it may have been a sign from the Green. We must focus our efforts to prepare for the coming winter. else maybe our lives wont end in an instant but a long enduring and painful way.
lather begins his afternoon chores of tending the herb garden and stalling and milking the animals as needed. He walks the fence line to see if any boards need mending or replacing then heads back to the house near dusk. he checks the hen house and counts all the heads as he pulls the fresh eggs for breakfast in the morning. he heads inside and greets modoc as he enters. hello friend. it was a good day to not be destroyed by the stars i'd say HAHA!!
Despite the sign from above or perhaps because of it; the rest of the night is quiet and passes without incident. The morning greets you with blue skies, biting midges and the promise of sweltering heat.
Modoc shakes his head at the mention of the "Green". He makes his way over to the barn to check on the other animals. Taking the time to brush out the oxen's coat and rub down his haunches. Modoc setd out a little extra cool water for him and the goat, drawing a couple other pails to wash them down and cool their flanks. Modoc also takes the time to check the beast hooves and make sure they are in good condition free from splinters and rot. Checking twice on the chickens to make sure they have enough feed, before looking over the barn structure for any further repairs.
Modoc has a productive day.
"I'm thinking we need to get started splitting and stacking some firewood in surplus to get us through the winter. We can't over estimate in this regard. Our little friend in the woods won't like us felling trees, but that's okay. It would be wiser to collect the dead portions that have fallen to the forest floor as the wood will be drier and easier to split."
...
Modoc - you get to work on chopping fallen trees while Lathar continues to shirk his chores. It looks like he's meditating from what he's told you of his discipline before but you've never seen him be so inactive for this long. How do you plan on carrying the wood back to the homestead?
After falling enough trees to render a good days work of gathering. Modoc returns to the barn to harness the oxen. Those bits of timber big enough to hoist by hand and are laying within the edge of the tree line, he gathers in the rear of the wagon.
After a few loads. He then returns the wagon to the barn, and tethers the medium sized, heavier trunks to the rear of the oxen by fabricating a three point pulling lead attached to the chest harness to drag the sections lengthwise in the ground behind the beast.
Lathar wakes from his deep meditation and contemplates what he had accomplished. Absolutely nothing. Sometimes I wonder what my masters thought or learned from all this "deep" meditation. Maybe it was a great way to not get anything done like I have done for the last few weeks. Lathar walks out into the yard and sees Modoc rigging a harness to the ox.
Hey there friend I am sorry for my absence let me help you with that.
Lathar helps modoc with the last of the daylight chores.
You know sometimes modoc I wonder if what I believe about Nature is actually real. Or is it something I have become accustomed to perceiving as real with random coincidences to back up my belief. I find myself doubting the things I have been taught now that I am removed from the daily ritual of it all. lather shakes his head
All that meditation has done nothing but confuse me more. it seems the only thing that is real of Nature is right here and right now.
Working together definitely makes the task easier and you figure by the end of the day you have about a cord of unsplit logs cut to 4' and 5' lengths. The sun is falling fast towards the top of the treeline and the animals need tending to but otherwise it looks like another quiet night.
percep
Hmm a wonderful night ill rub down the horses and check the chicken coup for eggs.
Modoc smiled as he felt the air stir and grow cooler, slightly as the sun disappeared behind the ridge. He contemplated the recent undisturbed work they had accomplished and mused whether it was related to their absence from the forest that allowed them their reprieve.
Modoc proceeds to the barn with the oxen. Once inside he washes the beast down with cool water and brushes out the coat, taking extra time to massage the beasts legs and flanks, checking the hooves, ears and mouth for any signs of maladie. Then he restocks the feeding troughs with fresh hay and the water trough likewise with cool water.
After that Modoc will spend a little more time goading the goat, playing & petting the animal. Then pulls up a stool and packs the bowl of his pipe he carved recently as he lazily sketches the beginning stages of crafting a bow, making a small list of materials that he may need to gather...keeping the animals company all the while.
"Would you mind taking care of the chickens Lathar and checking the crops?"
Another muggy, bug swarming night on the range followed by a sticky morning that promises rain at some point.
Lathar begins his day with a brief stretching routine and then begins getting breakfast ready for himself and modoc. He heads out and puts out the animals to pasture before walking the fenceline to check for breaks.
lathar notices a particularly bad spot that was damaged by a fallen tree.
I better get this fixed before the animals find it and get out
he rushes back to gather his tools and then returns to begin work
After a quick breakfast, Modoc got back to work collecting timber to split. Peering off to the clouds he panned the horizon line, as he does many times during the day and noticed some approaching figures on horse back skirting the ridge. He finished what he was doing at the moment...untying a another log in front of he splitting stump, troweled himself off and walked over to find Lathar coming out of the barn with an arms load of tools and spare lumber.
"What do you make of that?"
"Looks like they might be heading in the direction of the impact site of that flaming projectile?"
lather looks off in the direction modoc pointed out.
not sure..I hadn't even noticed them I was so focused on the fence. you wanna follow em out there and see what they are up too?
The men keep heading in the same direction although it looks as if they've altered their course to hit the tree line earlier.
It looks as though they haven't seen us. How about I go along with my routine work and you shadow them. ill head in the direction they are going in about 5 minutes. Maybe we can catch them unaware if they are up to no good.
Modoc grabs his vest jacket and throws it over his shoulders shrugging his arms through as he crouches low and makes his way around the back of the barn to the tree line. Thumbing his tomahawks heads, threaded through his belt ring he instinctively threads his left hand through the weapon chord drawing it from his hip, swinging a few, quick, low chops testing its balance.
Slowly he makes his way at an intercept course. Gathering extra shrubs and stuffing them in his pockets, neck and hair, dipping low to scoop up a handful of mud to smear on his face & hands and tufts of grass to add to his hair and face to blend in further with his environment.
One of the men stops apparently in alarm but he quickly dismisses any paranoia to "...probably another damn squirrel. Damn I'm getting jumpy Threm. You think that guy saw us?.."
Modoc's knowledge of this particular area is getting better and better as these men are headed right through where you set your traps a few weeks ago. You know of small ridge containing a copse of brush at the top where you can get a good view of them and will be able to hear more of their convo...if they keep talking.
@ Lathar - you wait nervously what you think is the allotted time bu tis actually a bit less and head off in the direction you saw Modoc disappear.
Survival
That crafty modoc, cant find his trail. Ill have to follow others.
Survival
Perxep
stealth
Lathar sets off with his walking staff and trails after the tresspassers.
@ Modoc - you gain the ridge well ahead of your quarry and wait. You lose sight of them for some time and realize they have deviated from where you thought theyd go...they obviously dont know the area as well as you do...and catch a glimpse of them cresting a ridge to the north about 200 yards away.
@ Lathar - Between the barely adequate track following skills you have and you're excellent vision you are able to continue following the men's horses. Good thing they're well ahead of you as you've tripped over a root here and there and snapped a branch to boot. There's still no sign of Modoc.
Survival DC 12 to stay on the horse's trail.
Lathar keeps to the tracks as best he can and watches out for the men. He moves along as quietly as he can and listens for any noise in the distance.
Modoc pushes himself to the limit. Lowering his head & shoulders he digs in deep pushing with his legs from hip to heel to move swiftly down through the hollows and back up the ridge to cut the pair off...
@ Lathar - You follow the trail with ease and even spot what has to be one of Modoc's bootprints crossing the horse's trail. You can also tell that you are losing ground on them...probably because theyre on horse back...
Survival DC 11 to stay on the horse's trail.
@ Modoc - Your old bones dont fail you now and you hustle down the creek bed and up a ridge. After your lungs catch up with themselves and your heart stops thundering you can just make out the clink of horse tack coming around the bend. You can also smell the faint odor of smoke on the slight breeze that's making it way from the north...
Lathar doubles his pace to catch up with the riders.
Modoc finds some cover near the roadway where he hunkers down and awaits the duo to pass. Readying his bow...he listen and watches the two carefully to get a better understanding of their purpose and what kind of a threat they may pose...
@ Modoc - as you hide in some brush a the top of the ridge the men come riding by on their horses. They're muttering to each other but you cant make out what they are saying or their intentions at this point. You have a good vantage and will be able to watch them from here for a minute or so.
Modoc watches intently trying to get a better idea of who the figures are. Continuing to shadow them at a distance and keep up pace by traveling in straight and not meandering paths to intersect with theirs. Relying on the fact that the two riders, on horseback, will continue to ride the ridges as the often are wont to do.
lather digs deep inside and breaks into a run. he tries to steady his breathing to catch up with the horses.
As he runs he keeps his eyes open for crosscuts and paths they may speed his chase.
their are 2 of them and Modoc has the surprise still....I hope. Lathar pushed himself harder in the run, he had to make sure the odds were evened.
@ Modoc - You're next hiding spot has a much better vantage and you can pick out a couple of things about these men. The one doing all the talking is brawny with a thick head of hair. The other man is a bit older with just a ring of hair above his ears...he's about your age actually... and sits stooped in the saddle chewing what you think has to be tobacco. You can see the handles of picks and shovels on their horses and the smell of smoke is getting heavier.
@ Lathar - You make good time despite having to stop and catch your breath back beside an dried out creek bed. You saw the men crest a ridge about 200 yards from you. The faint smell of smoke is on the air.
Lathar sniffs the air and tries to discern the direction the smoke is comng from.
Keeping his pace steady he rns as close as he can till he thnks stealthiness becomes necesary.
He looks around as he moves too try and catch some sign of modoc.
Modoc moves this time away from the ridge and swings wide around the edges of the ridge tops to try to neat the pair to what be thinks must be the smoldering impact area ahead...
@ Lathar - wisps of smoke are trailing all through the woods by now and you thought you heard the faint muttering of someone talking to the north west. You haven't seen any clue to Modoc's whereabouts in while.
@ Modoc - You slip around a hillock and angle ahead of the two men. Ahead the smoke becomes much denser making sight beyond 60' or so almost impossible. It would seem as if they will be going straight into the smoke.
Modoc pulls his sweaty rag, tucked into his waist, still moist from toweling himself off all day while working in the summer heat. Pulling it across his nose & mouth, he fastens it behind his head, while crouching low, squinting his eyes to narrow slits and moves forward into the billow cloud, trying to stick to the edge of the smoke and try to surmise where the center of this area may be.
Omw
Lathar stops for a brief moment forcing himself to be calm. the thundering of his own heartbeat wanes, he tunes in with his senses to pick out individual sounds and smells and from what direction.
He moves in the direction of the smoke and voices and continues tracking the hoof prints.
@ Modoc - a small light flares up in the smoke from what has to have been a tindertwig and not long after the dull glow of first one and then two lanterns spring up. The large man chuckles at something and then the two disappear into the smoke.
@ Lathar - You round a small hill and though some brush just in time to see two distant lanterns disappear into heavy smoke.
Modoc cautiously shadowed the two as close as possible. Using the smokes concealment to his advantage and moving up to the rear of the horse just outside the dark halo of illumination, hoping that the stench of the billowing column of smoke will cover his scent...
lather moves toward the last place he saw the lanterns