"There should be plenty of supplies for the shelters," Aubrin says. "Some of us will work on those while the others forage for more food. You're free to hunt the pig. I, for one, am looking forward to some roasted pork tonight."
Surma starts licking her lips. "Mmmm, me too."
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Aubrin smiles at Surma. "Well, great minds--and stomachs--think alike!"
Eilyne nodded her agreement and said, "Yes, I believe that taking down that pig would be a good idea, even if it weren't for the meat it might turn into a threat later on." She looked at the others and said, "Shall we?"
Mia leads you back along the boar's trail, easily picking it up where she last saw the beast. You can hear it grunting and snorting ahead, and you try to stealthily approach, but the beast's sharp senses detect you.
By the time you enter the clearing where it stands, it's already preparing to charge straight at you!
Minto salivates at the prospect of fresh boar...
Surma chuckles at Aubrin's comment. "Yep!"
-----
Seeing the boar she begins to salivate alongside Minto. When it notices them and readies itself Surma can't help but grin and head the future meal off. "You're gonna taste great!"
Surma's axe grates against the boar's scarred hide, not slicing with enough force to hurt it. The big pig squeals its defiance as it tries to gore the ranger, but she dodges its tusks!
Surma swings again.
Shifting around to get to one side of the pissed off piggy Eilyne sent a seed out which sprouted into a large thorn as it flew in at the pig's hide.
Dang, forgot I was injured. Did I ever get healed? For that matter I think it was from that twigjack, shouldn't I be healed to full by now from that?[/ooc]
"Go get him, Minto." Griffo sends his companion in to take a bite out of the boar. In the meantime, Griffo draws his scimitar and starts carefully working his way behind the boar.
Minto needs little urging as he bounds forward to attack some of his favorite prey.
Mia draws her bow and moves to get a clear shot at the boar. She then looses an arrow at the boar.
Griffo begins to circle around to flank the boar while Minto rushes in and digs his teeth into the boar's haunches. The beast squeals in surprise as the wolf drags it to the ground!
Eilyne and Mia both try to hit the prone pig, but neither lands a good hit. Taking advantage of its vulnerable position, though, Surma slices into it with her axe.
The boar thrashes around as it gets back up on its feet. Then it tries to gore Surma again, but once more fails to land a good hit!
Surma keeps hacking away at her future dinner.
As the boar gets up, Griffo strikes out, hoping to quickly quell its suffering and anger.
Minto, hungry for some haunch, snaps at the boar again.
Griffo and Surma both slash the boar as it gets up, badly wounding it. Though suffering injuries that would drop a normal beast, the fierce pig seems determined to fight to the death.
Surma is happy to oblige the animal. With a mighty swing, she severs the boar's spine with a powerful chop. It collapses to the ground, unmoving.
Letting out a breath Surma will reach over to pat the dead foe on the head after it has expired. "That'll do pig. We thank you for the future meals you have provided us."
Mia nocks another arrow and sends it streaking at the boar.
Taking aim, only to see the boar is now dead, Mia relaxes the string on her bow and replaces the arrow in her quiver.
"So, all of you know how to field dress a boar, right," she asks as she starts getting ready to do just that.
"I've tooken apart a piggy or two, but they were small piggys." Surma replies while licking her lips.
You butcher the boar for its meat, hide, and tusks, then head back to the camp.
By the time you return, the others have built some temporary shelters and come back from their foraging trips. Between the food they recovered and the boar's meat, it's enough to fill everyone's bellies tonight. Jet uses a small stash of good spices to flavor the pork, and it tastes delicious!
Despite the horrors of Gristledown, everybody is in good spirits tonight.
With the fighting done and the boar dead Eilyne shook her head, "No, I have no clue how to dress a boar. I don't think the pig is going to lie down and just let me try either. I'll leave that to those of you who are professionals at such things."
"Eh, its simple enough, just gotta keep the bad stuff from the good stuff."
"Well, no time to learn like now," Mia says as she hops up and hauls Eilyne over and begins teaching her the basics of dressing game. Her mood is much better as the work helps her forget the horrors of earlier that day.
Another uneventful night passes under the stars, and in the morning, you continue your trek southeast through the woods. Your stores are quite low again, meaning another day of foraging is needed to keep everybody fed, perhaps augmented by some of your own hunting and gathering.
A more pressing concern makes itself apparent shortly after you start your daily march, however. You hear rustling in the undergrowth ahead, and through the bushes you catch sight of a trio of hobgoblins! Two look like rank-and-file Ironfang soldiers, while the third wears a hooded cloak and carries a longbow! Their ambush foiled, the hobgoblins prepare to attack!
Catching sight of the Hobgoblins Surma immediately charges, axe over her head.
Eilyne was having no part in dressing down the pig, she slipped away from Mia's grasp by the simple expediency of letting the plants under the woman's grip fall off, along with all of the others on her body, so that she lost her grip and moved back in the woods as she said, "I don't think so." As she moved without effort into the trees plants again flowed up her body to make clothing as she returned tot eh camp to tell them what had happened and that they would all have pork tonight.
With another restful nights sleep behind her Eilyne rose and went about her morning. She had drifted off to one side to flank their group using her ability to move swiftly through the undergrowth, and without a trace, to keep watch for anything sneaking up on them so she was able to get into a good spot to move out and attack them with only a little more movement.
Griffo taps Minto's back to give him a little divine guidance before sending him on his way with, "Go get'em, Minto!"
He then trots a little forward, keeping some foliage between himself and the hobgoblin archer, and draws his sling.
Mia draws her bow as she rushes for the sounds of battle. She draws and looses an arrow at the hobgoblin that Minto has engaged.
The ranger gives a grim smile as she sticks an arrow right into the hobgoblin.
Griffo grants Minto some guidance before sending the wolf into combat. The halfling moves forward, readying his sling.
Mia shoots the hobgoblin in front of the wolf with a well-placed arrow to the chest, badly wounding him!
Surma charges forward and swings her axe, but her attack goes wide.
Eilyne disappears into the trees, her passage leaving no trace behind.
The hobgoblin scout steps into the undergrowth as he draws a bead on Minto. He fires an arrow at the wolf, and it drives itself into his flank!
The wounded hob slashes at Minto with his sword, scoring a critical hit that leaves poor Minto bleeding profusely! The other one tries to strike Surma, but she is able to dodge his attack.
"Minto!" Surma cries out before stepping and slashing at the hobgoblin.
Eilyne heard the scout enter the trees with her, he likely had no clue she was hear, and she began to move stealthily as she shifted around the underbrush between them. She hoped to catch him completely off guard with her attack and make him runaway from her. Once she saw him she grinned viciously and brought in her power causing the bracken on the ground to rise up and then fly at the hobgoblin in front of her.
Griffo gasps as he sees the hobgoblin lash into Minto. "Minto! Down! " he cries out to order Minto from the fray.
Well tuned to Griffo's commands but also angered by being stabbed and shot, Minto snarls at the hobgoblins but still withdraws out of immediate danger (path marked).
Griffo catches up to his companion and casts cure light wounds on him.
Mia sends another arrow at the same hobgoblin to cover Minto's retreat. She then moves closer to Surma, trying to see what other threats might be close by.
Griffo calls Minto to heel, and as the wolf withdraws, the halfling heals some of his injuries.
Mia punishes the hobgoblin that struck the wolf, driving another arrow into his gut as she moves closer.
Surma steps around the other hobgoblin and attacks, but he manages to deflect her axe with his blade.
Eilyne catches the scout by surprise, blasting him with sharp bracken! He snarls in pain and anger.
Rather than run away as the kineticist hoped he would do, however, the injured scout steps closer to Eilyne. He drops his bow as he draws a pair of axes from his belt and chops at her, but she is able to dodge both attacks!
Meanwhile, the wounded soldier moves up to Mia and exacts vengeance by slicing her with his sword, while the other one tries to hit Surma but misses once more.
Surma sets in tune with the dodged slice and strikes back.
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Whether she made him run from the thicket or not Eilyne made the bastard drop that bow and, really, that's all she needed. She deftly dodged both axes as the undergrowth aided her, throwing him off balance, and then blew him a kiss before suddenly withdrawing into the woods, looking over her shoulder and smacking her rear with one hand she disappeared into the trees her voice floated back, "Come and catch me if you can big boy," hoping that he would follow her.