Autumn recognizes the animal as a brush thylicine
”Can’t have been long.” Titian responds to Autumn’s question. ”That animal seems very energetic.”
"I don't know the thylicine," Larin says, "but it looks like if we get it out it might try to eat us." He peers carefully down the pit again. "Also, how would we get it out of there?"
"we find a log or branch so it can climb up. One moment I'll see how friendly it is."
The gruff cleric moved to the edge of the pit and after a moment of study started to make the thycline noises.
It is a 20’ deep pit. An orange and black predator of some kind is at the bottom. It jumps and scrabbles at the steep overhanging walls of the pit. The edge of the pit don’t look all that stable.
When Herger moves close to the edge of the pit, the ground under his feet gives away.
The edge gives way under Herger’s feet, but he avoids going in with it. Standing back at a safe distance Herger speaks to the thylicine.
It answers with a few yips, and snarls.
”Could we find it some food so it won’t starve, while we come up with a solution to get it out of the pit, maybe?”
He backed away slightly and nodded at Amyia.
"I tried to reason with it, probably foolish i know. It thinks us two legs are untrustworthy. I told it we would bring it some food and help it out. We will see what comes of it. "
He said gruffly slightly shaking his head he glanced over to Autumn and Frostbite. She had a wolf companion that had not caused trouble. Perhaps this Thylicine might not cause too many problems. Nature needed all the elements in it to function.
"So long as you're sure it won't think we're the food?" Larin asks, his experience of largish predators being different from everyone else who are twice his size.
"If it was hungry enough we would be." Autumn said. "The body fat to meat balance of our bodies isn't good for the meat eating animals. It is why attacks are often more about territory and threat than food when it comes to us. I mean don't get me wrong! They'll still eat us if they need food but it isn't the first thing on their mind. This only goes for normal animals though, not magical beasts."
Autumn pulled an arrow from her quiver, "Keep far from the edge, I'm going to see if there is any game close by. We can let it eat while we cut down a tree and then push one end into the pit so it can climb out." With that Autumn and Frostbite headed off.
Autumn and Frostbite each catch a brace squirrels.
"We where able to nab two rabbits." Autumn said when she and Frostbite came back. She tossed the fresh kills into the pit with the Thylicine so that it could eat.
"Let me see how it reacts to those and then we'll have a better idea how to handle it when we get it out."
The thylicine tears into one of the dead rodents, making short work of the meal.
Titian, and Torek work together to fell a good branchy pine sapling. They trim it to form a rough ladder of sorts, then drop it down the hole; being careful to not get too close to the unstable edge.
The thylicine doesn’t take long to scramble up the tree trunk, and run off.
Larin keeps watch while the others work out how to get the thylicine out of the pit, then stands aside as it charges up the makeshift ladder lest it consider him a tasty snack.
"Good work everyone," he says cheerily, happy to have not been eaten. "Shall we get going again?"
”I think we did a good thing saving that creature’s life. I’m ready to keep on exploring,” the cleric says proudly.
"Perhaps, I would have liked a little more talking time with the creature. But I digress. Let's get moving."
He added to the others words.
"Returning a creature to it's natural environment is a good thing. The balance of the wilds must be maintained in order for the community to thrive. Be well" Autumn said as she watched the thylicine run back to the wilds it calls home.
Home. The word made her want to cry but Autumn forced herself to smile instead. "Yes, we have a mission." She told the group as she returned to Solstice. "Let us use what light remains, and ready yourself... We've no idea what to expect."
The rest of the day is spent exploring the wooded region.
There is more unexplored forest to the south and west. To the east the forest grows thinner with more grasslands.
"Keep to the woodlands and explore at least the border region or to the east for more lands that may be settled?"
He asked the others He keep his gaze mostly south and west.
"Let's stay in the woods," Larin suggests. "It's been nice so far, and we'll only have to come back if we don't explore them now."
”The woods would be fine with me as well. We will have to cover all of this eventually but the woods are as good as any.”
"As much as I prefer the forests, the place we tried to check out before is the plains. I wish to see if we can get a better look. I heard voices when we got found out, but as I was covering out trail I didn't have a chance to actually see what was going on." Autumn explained.
Titian unrolls his map, pointing with a gloved finger. ”Due south should bring us to the other side of that hilltop keep we saw.” He shrugs his armored shoulders. ”Assuming our mapping is accurate. I say we verify the truth of that, then find out who, if anyone, lives in the keep.”
"Sounds like somewhere we should investigate," Larin says, his eyes bright with the thought of exploring an abandoned keep or meeting a group of interesting locals. "Do you know anything about that area?"
"It's close enough for me to run to water." Autumn said thinking back. "I dove into the water to make them lose our trail and I remember that I almost froze by the time I got back and was greatly exhausted."
You move south, traveling through a pleasant, park-like forest. Mighty oaks spread their limbs, resplendent with fresh spring growth. Fruit trees are common here too, as well as a few stately pines. Game is plentiful, but very skittish.
At day’s end you have surveyed a river, broad and slow. A mild odor of rotten eggs wafts from the water. Fairly large, the river is approximately 100’ wide, and flows from north to south, then west to east in a great, lazy curve.
You camp along the riverbank where the river leaves the forest for more open meadow land. Only six, or so miles away, to the east, you can see a hill crowned by a shape that is likely to be a keep, or castle.
”Now we are talking! Anyone else interested in figuring out what’s that building?”
"Yes, it looks like it could be really interesting," Larin says with excitement. "I wonder if anyone's living there?"
"If we're lucky, that is the one I spoke of." Autumn said as she looked upon it. "We could go during day light or try once more during night fall like we did before." She offered.
"The time we looked there was people there." Autumn told them. "Or well... we could hear them."
"How many people did you think there were?" Larin asks. "And how friendly might they be? Is that why you looked around in the night last time?"
"We didn't get close enough to tell but I can say there has to be quite a few." Autumn stated as she tried to think back. "I don't know if I could say any would be possible allies if they're bandit but we're not even sure they're bandit... I mean I'm fairly sure but I guess the only way we can know is to just try."
”Best to assume that they are unfriendly.” Titian states flatly. ”I love an open battle, but riding up under armed battlements is not my idea of a good time.”
"Maybe we should do some night time sneaking then?" Larin suggests, also unwilling to charge at the battlements. "If they're unfriendly, then we'll know without getting shot at."
"We can try again yes. Maybe we'll actually get close enough to find out what we're up against this time." Autumn said with a nod. "But we'll need to wait till night fall. Can you see in the dark?" She asked Latin.
Though the keep sits high on a cliff, it is still a few miles away. The countryside provides plenty of cover, between scattered groves, and small hills and valleys. With care you could possibly get closer, even in daylight.
"I can't," Larin replies apologetically, "if it's dark I normally just conjure a little light and use that to see by." Larin looks out over the uneven terrain. "Seems we might be able to get fairly close just by moving between copses and valleys," he suggests, trying to be helpful.
"I say we get as close as we can as night falls. That should give us a little extra cover. We can then leave the horses and a few back and try again what we tried last time. As you said Latin the land will offer us cover to get closer then a team can make it the rest of the way if they're quiet enough." Autumn agreed. "Depending upon how much of the moon is showing you might not need my aid to see."
"So, are we willing to risk it?"
”It’s a challenging problem.” Titian states. ”We can’t really sneak in and murder whoever is in there. They might be lawful folk.” His armor creaks as he shifts in the saddle. ”I suspect it’s the stronghold of this self styled Stag Lord, though. So if we play our cards wrong, we can expect them to try to murder us.”
Titian clenches his lance in an armored fist. “A closer look seems advisable.”
"I agree. Let's see what we can find out. If they're friendly then great. If not, then let's find out who or what they are," Larin says.
He frowned. He wasnt sure how much he liked where things were going. He knew at some point they needed to deal with the stag lord... he just wasnt sure when they should. He gazed up at it for a long moment.
"We had better be prepared for combat i think. I doubt there are many lawful inhabitants here friends."
He said somewhat morosely.
"I do believe battle will be at hand." Autumn said, "Let's get the horses a bit closer and then we'll go in with the night on foot."
"Hopefully there'll be enough light," Larin muses as they set off carefully towards the castle. "I'll hop off Frostbite once we get closer," he says, "I'm sure you'll be lighter on your feet without me, won't you?" he adds, rubbing behind the wolf's ears.
"I'm sure she will." Autumn nods before they moved in. As they moved Autumn's eyes shifted and she gave a soft hoot.
He hated sneaking. He always had always would. The only reason he had any chance at attempting it was trying to hunt back home. With a scowl he whispered to the horses to wait there, tied them off and followed the others doing his best to stay quient.
Autumn leads the way toward the keep. She takes a path along the shore of the lake, where trees and low cliffs provide the best cover.
You stop on a damp sand beach about a half mile from the looming hill with its crowning castle. The shore line ahead seems to be exposed to view from above.
"This seems like a really lovely area," Larin says as the group stops along the shore of a large lake. "I wonder if the water's warm enough for a dip."
He looks up at the castle for signs of it's inhabitants.
"Not when I was here." Autumn explained. "Between the water and the cool night I almost froze to death."