Tyanos spots the sack when pointed out. Then goes about looking and smelling around as well. Casting a spell to pick up any magic on top, finally he could use a different spell. He had been repeatedly casting his cleaning spell to keep himself dry and clean for seemingly days now.
While you can sense no one nearby with neither sight nor smell, you do detect a magic aura emanating from the sack.
Tyanos raises his hand.
"Easy, there is magic coming from that sack."
Den sees the sack but assumes it is a setup for some ambush. He ignores the sack and keeps his focus on the trees and earth beneath them. He readies has now and backs up some.
Thomas looks at the others and at the sack hanging in the air.
Any suggestions on how to get it down, other than throwing axes at it?
Thomas grins at Dmitri when he says that last part.
He then looks around for the end of the rope that is holding the sack.
Thomas and Dendarial remain alert, wary of potential ambushes... but there doesn't seem to be anything or anyone around. Nor does the sack appear to be tied anywhere near the ground. The end of the rope extends high up into the tree above, disappearing behind branches and leaves.
The faint aura looks be one of illusion magic.
if we don't use magic or thrown weapons, I could try to climb the tree? You know, the old fashioned way, as our grandfathers did when they were young boys...
Hadin smiles
That might be the only way to get that down
Thomas leads his horse over by the tree that seems to have the sack hanging from it.
This should give you a boost
Apparently no one heard him about it having magic and the danger that meant. Now that he had time to properly focus on it, he had an idea of the whole thing.
"As I said earlier it is giving off magic. Illusion magic at that, if I had to guess it's purpose. That sack may not be there at all and we are ether being lured into a trap. Or someone is playing a trick. The outcome in both is undesirable. So just leave it, their is no profit in curiosity over good sense."
He tugs on the horses reins, leading it away from the sack. If it was a trap, bandits with a bit of magic were involved. If it was a trick then he would think fey of some sort. If it was the latter then he would consider them more dangerous then the former. Fey tricks could be lethal depending on the fey and their whim.
As Tyanos starts to walk away, he feels a pair of small, hard objects hit him in the back of the head. He glances down and finds a pair of acorns now laying at his feet.
Meanwhile, Thomas keeps the horse steady so Hadin can get a leg up onto the massive tree's trunk...
Hadin puts down his shield and removes his armor before climbing sloly toward the sack.
You'd better remove your horse from down under, Thomas, I don't want the sack to fall on it.
He uses his dagger to cut the rope after the horse is moved
As Hadin leans out to cut through the rope, his knife passes straight through the rope and has absolutely no effect. After a split-second of confusion, he recognizes it for what it is: an illusion, as Tyanos suspected.
Almost as soon as he does so, the branch he is supporting himself on gives a sudden and abrupt crack. The sound echoes softly through the branches, but is quickly muffled by the soft falling of rain.
There's something off about the sound of the crack... it too sounds somewhat distant and illusory.
Tyanos looks in the direction they came. It was fey, he made a gesture in that direction. His own trick, see if that would knock them off balance.
Holding his horse steady from the beasts roar, Thomas leads him clear while Hadin climbs down.
That cracking branch sounded wrong
Thomas then looks around the area trying to figure out what has been causing the sounds
A moment passes in relative silence as Tyanos and Thomas scan the forest for signs of movement. A sudden flash of motion zips through the leaves, and another pair of acorns tumble down and bounce off Tyanos' head. As two blurs disappear further off into the forest above, you can swear you hear a peal of laughter. It's hard to get a real look at the creatures behind it, but Thomas sees what appear to be oversized butterfly wings on one of the blurs.
Within seconds, the forest is quiet again except for the constant drone of falling rain. The sack, and all signs that it had ever been there, have vanished along with the creatures.
I think it is gone.
Thomas steadies his and Hadin's horses, while he slips back into his armour.
Tyanos shakes his head.
"Fey. Perhaps next time I say something is an illusion and your are being played for a fool. You will listen. Be grateful these fey are not the more cruel kind."
He should have kept his mouth shut. The fey targeted him because he was not taken in by them. If they were wicked, he would have been the first to be bloodied. All for naught at that as his words were not heeded in the least. He would not make that mistake again, not for those that did not listen.
Fey. Den says with wonder in his voice. My cousins. he walks out past the large tree and calls out softly in Sylven. My cousins. My friends. Come and speak with us and I shall play a game with you. And I have sweet tried fruit in my rations that I will share!
What do you call "fey"? I've heard of them, but only in children's tales or drunken men boasts. Are they real? Are they dangerous?
Dmitri silently cursed to himself.
How could I be such a fool to let that minor illusion fool us! After all those years of training and dealing with them, I should have recognized this...
After the party spoke up, Dmitri joined in with his wisdom.
"It's rather hard to say whether the fey are dangerous or cruel. Most of them are capricious and tend to enjoy making whomever they meet the part of their joke or trick." He withdrew a small trinket he had kept on his person and showed the party. It was no bigger than a twig, but it was wrapped intrically with pine needles and berries, which gave it the appearance of simple jewelry. "This token happens to be something I recovered from my dealings with the fey along the border to Rostland. Those times..." he said while drifting off.
What do you call "fey"? I've heard of them, but only in children's tales or drunken men boasts. Are they real? Are they dangerous?
To be honest friend, they are very real. Some belief that the world we inhabit happens to be theirs. Strange and twisting, it's...very...confusing. What I do know is that these woods we tread upon do have a presence and we should do our best not to offend them. I'd rather not have the entire forest after us."
The huntsman then gave a slight nod to Dendarial and spoke in sylvan.
"It is good that you know their tongue, friend. I will redouble my efforts to ensure our group's safety."
After speaking his piece, Dmitri did his best to find any tracks that the fey may have left. It may have been impossible considering how much traffic his party left, but he had to be sure.
Thomas listens in on the explanations of the Fey. and then relaxes a bit.
This was the first that I had heard of Fey. My apologies Tyranos, but I had never heard of them.
Unfortunately, Dmitri's efforts to find tracks and Dendarial's effort to call out to the fey prove fruitless. Wherever the creatures have gone, they've left little trail behind and show no signs of coming back. Not at at your request, at least.
There is little left to do but push on through the drizzle in your effort to map out the forest. Progress through the afternoon continues to be slow, though the rain eventually stops. Late day sunlight begins to trickle through the clouds and the forest canopy, bringing welcome warmth to a group of decidedly soggy adventurers. Even the forest seems to wake with the sun, despite it rapidly approaching nightfall.
Den,Dmi,Tom,Ty,Hadin,Karina
An hour or so after the rain stops, the group happens upon a particularly thick grove. Pushing through the branches, there is a sudden crack of wood, a clink of metal, and the sound of a spring. Tyanos' horse immediately bucks beneath him, whinnying with an outcry of pain. As Tyanos clutches the reins to try and stay on his horse, a glance down reveals a metallic object wrapped around his horse's foreleg...
With the sudden snap of the trap on the horses leg, Thomas reins in, and looks around intently as he dismounts.
He then slowly makes his way over to the injured horse, to attempt to help free it, and deal with it's injuries.
Can anyone help me calm his horse while we free it?
Tyanos gets shaken but does not fly off his horse, thank the gods.
"Woah."
He manages to control the horse enough to keep it from moving overly much and making it's leg worse. After he is sure it's safe he dismounts to see what ill fate it has suffered.
Offering a salt lick and soothing words to the horse, Karina tries to keep the wounded animal calm while the others inspect and free it.
Karina holds the horse steady and calms its frazzled nerves as Tyanos and the others assess the situation. The damage is immediately clear - a bear trap, firmly anchored into the ground and now clenching tight around the creature's leg. It looks easy enough to disarm, though the horse will certainly not be happy about the affair. Blood oozes from the site of the wound; fortunately, no bones appear broken.
Thomas spots the glint of metal in the grass a few dozen feet away. It looks like someone has these traps in the area. They also don't appear as though they've been checked in a while. But there's no telling how many of these might still be out there... or how many people or animals might have already fallen into them.
Pointing out the couple of traps that he can see to Dendarial, Thomas then looks at the others.
Karina, can you lead the horse back with the others when we get the trap opened up. I will look at the injury there.
Once the horse is clear, and with the others, Thomas calls upon the inheritor to bring healing onto the horse.
We should stop somewhere for the night, as I don't think Tyranos's horse will be wanting to continue on for a bit
Fey. Den says with wonder in his voice. My cousins. he walks out past the large tree and calls out softly in Sylven. My cousins. My friends. Come and speak with us and I shall play a game with you. And I have sweet tried fruit in my rations that I will share!
Dendarial will try to remove the trap while making sure where he steps is clear before stepping there. After he will spend some time searching the immediate area for more traps, springing them and gathering them for possible future use.
Traps as well! Curse this forrest! thought Dmitri as he heard another snap come from the underbrush. As if the Fey weren't a problem, the group had to deal with traps within the grass.
Focus on your mission. This is just another hurdle
Looking to a nearby tree, Dmitri plucked a branch that rivaled the length of his bastard sword. "Impatience and frustration will be you the fool of these traps! I suggest you arm yourselves and keep watch. We may not be alone...and I'm not talking about the Fey we encountered!" he said while fumbling through the brush with his improvised trap-springer.
While the horse's wounds are tended, Dmitri and Dendarial set to work trying to find and disarm any additional traps. It quickly seems as though they've got their work cut out for them - within thirty minutes, they find an additional four traps within a hundred meter radius. None of them are clearly marked. Nor do they show any signs that the trapper who left them here had checked them recently. A carcase in the last trap you found, picked clean by scavengers, was a testament to that. It was a miracle it had taken this long for someone to stumble into one. There's no telling how many more of the traps were out there... and nightfall was approaching within an hour or two, at the most.
Those bear traps are vicious.... they could have broke an honest man's legs! We should wait for the night, and clean the rest of the place tomorrow morning
I concur. I would not leave those for honest hunters to find. Lets keep two of the traps and disable the others. Den will pick out the two traps in best shape.
After the horse is attended, Karina takes a cursory look around the immediate area for traps, finding nothing.
In the morning, the noblewoman helps with finding and disabling the bear traps, a skill that she has quite a bit of training in.
-
Dmitri looked at the construction of the bear traps.
"I doubt these were left by the Fey. It doesn't fit their methods. I suspect we're the only ones out here in the woods..." remarked Dmitri as he eyed one trap in particular. Even when closed, it looked like a grinning mechanical mouth. "Have we met any resistance within the Stolen Land such as rival charter bearers or savage trappers?"
Only thieves and robbers so far. And natural threats.
Maybe the hunter that did put theses traps was uncaring, but he wouldn't have set so many bear traps if there wasn't bears around, don't you think? Should we check for bear prints?
The night passes quietly, though the dampness from the day's rain still hangs in the air. Nocturnal predators romp through the darkness, the sounds of their hunting drifting through the forest's slumber. Yet none of them dare to press their luck against a party of humanoid adventurers.
As dawn breaks over the Stolen Lands, bright and unclouded light at last trickles through the branches. Warmth comes on the breeze, signs that spring is at last pushing back the powerful Brevic winter. Everything seems in order... until Tyanos wakes. As he moves to rub the sleep from his eyes, he finds his face covered in a thin layer of honey. Several insects have found it quite enjoyable. A large rock sits atop his pack, crude letters scratched into its surface in an inhuman language he recognizes as Slyvan.
The two words written translate roughly to 'raspberry noises, spoilsport.' Yes, the fey have a word for making raspberry noises entirely nonverbally.
Despite the rude awakening, there appears to be no real harm done (except, perhaps, to Tyanos' pride) and nothing is missing. The day continues as the group slows its progress in order to attend to the plentiful traps left in the region. Karina puts the others to shame, nimbly disabling them without the use of a stick or so much as nicking a finger on the edges. Still, it takes a number of hours to clear the area - and by the time they've all been disarmed and removed, the sun indicates it is already well into the afternoon. All in all, you've collected 38 traps. Several of them show signs of rust and neglect, and only a few of them are in good enough condition for reuse or sale.
Hadin keeps a close eye out for any signs of bear tracks throughout the day, but finds little hard evidence that bears are in the area. Certainly in a forest this large they must be around... but you find none in any traps, nor any recently laid tracks.
Tyanos cleans himself with a word, his magic leaving him spotless. He makes sure he is as covered as ever. He does take the time to send another magical roar through the woods as well as a few words in Sylvan from his own mouth.
"I don't need any advice on manners from those that don't warn innocent travelers about hidden traps. I wasn't fooled by your tricks, so don't think me fool enough to believe you did not know these traps were here for so long."
He does not care of they are listening or not. They didn't cause any direct harm yet but they left them to stumble into harm's way. That showed indifference not benevolence. Tricksters without morals as far as he was concerned. Taking the time to follow them and play tricks yet not a sign of warning. That said plenty about their character.
Reading the note Dendarial smiles and hands it to Tyanos. It seems there were some fey in the area. And it seems they did not like you spoiling their fun. I think these fey are harmless enough but cannot be sure. And their tricks might be meant as harmless but could cause real problems. Something like glueing or weapons in their sheaths. We had better all check our gear well.
Den is pleased that the group was able to remove the threat of bear traps from the area and pleased that they have a few traps to sell as well. He leads the group onward, towards where he hopes the river is.
Thomas grins ruefully at the others after checking on the horses.
If I were to try to disarm those, I would be loosing fingers or toes.
He just sits back and cooks lunch while the others deal with the traps.
Don't give bad ideas for other pranks to the fey, Dendarial...
After a few moments he adds
It seems odd to me that so much traps were used, and that they look used. Why an hunter would put down traps and never come back to check on them, to see if they caught some prey? I guess such intruments don't come cheap in a market...
"I prefer to hunt with my own skill, rather than await for a lumbering beast to stumble upon a cheap trick."
Dmitri eyed Hadin.
"Only the cowardly would resort to such measures."
With the majority of the day spent clearing traps, there are only a few hours left before nightfall. Dendarial suggests that instead of wasting time the group continues onward and sets camp ahead. Tyanos, complete with a pair of bug bites on his cheek thanks to the fey's prank, is more than happy to move on.
Several hours later the sun is sinking low on the horizon and the trees are thinning out. Ahead, you can see the forest eventually give way to the same rolling plains that mark both the Rostland and the region surrounding Oleg's. As the forest's trees slope southward, a few errant glades sit out at a distance, visible on the horizon and perhaps a mile or half-mile across themselves. They would slow down your exploration of this region, as each would need to be mapped individually...
But more pressingly, the onset of night was going to stop any mapping for today. It was time to find a place to set up camp for the night. Thankfully, it was a clear night and the stars were already coming out in full force.