Karst rides in the back, taking it all in and learning about his new friends: Sesi's flare for the dramatic, Lia's refined sensibilities, and Pendrix... young Pendrix who tries so hard. "That boy needs a bit of help," the dwarf muses "but we'll get him sorted."
"Ah, yes, the hunt." Aldern, quite shaken from the tales, then makes a sweeping gesture at the woods about them, hoping to quickly forget what he had just heard. "I had planned on the best tracker amongst us finding the quarry, then the rest of us would charge the beast, finishing it swiftly and with hopes of returning with it to the Dragon for a victory luncheon. Now, who'd like to find us our prize?"
"I'll find the boar, but is charging really a good idea? I've always heard it's better to set your spear and let it charge you," Sesi asks.
"See," Aldern proclaims, "This is why she is the hunter, not I."
"Well, let's see if we can put roast boar on the menu then," Sesi says with a grin before disappearing into the woods.
Lia follows suit.
Lia follows suit.
Okay, not really. It's fixed.
After a few minutes in the woods, the rest of the party following Sesi's lead, the ranger spots a set of quite fresh tracks, perhaps an hour old at most, leading northeast.
As Sesi notices the tracks getting fresher she motions for the others to be quiet and keep their distance before continuing to follow them as stealthily as she can.
Pendrix tries to move stealthily, ahead of the group, but still well behind Sesi. He's a little nervous about people going off alone.
'Alone is when the fear comes...'
Karst, ill-suited for stealth, hangs back.
Lia hangs back with Karst as well.
A boar appears north of the tree at R7, his nose facing north.
Sesi quietly readies her bow and stalks forward After she's about sixty feet away, she turns and mimes planting a spear into the ground, she points to herself, then the boar, then the party. After making sure they got the message to get ready, she moves closer to the boar, and readies a shot when she's thirty feet away.
Karst dismounts and readies his spear
Pendrix draws his dagger, and drops into a defensive stance.
Lia dismounts her horse and readies her spear.
The boar suddenly jerks in your direction, snorting angrily and hoofing the soft earth. He begins to charge, reaching J7 before his round ends.
Karst sets his spear to receive the charge, delaying his action until the Boar attacks.
Sesi runs to get behind the wall of spears.
"Well, that wasn't how I was planning on getting its attention," the ranger says as she makes her withdrawal.
Lia follows Karst's lead, her spear ready to catch the boar on it should it charge at her.
Ze boar will come crashing into the set spears, doing damage as your spears are rolled. His squeals are quite entertaining to my mind's ear, but you probably knew that.
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Giving out one last squeal, the boar falls limp as its lifeblood pours out from its twin wounds. A moment of silence passes before Aldern cries out in victory.
"Huzzah, we have done it!" He approaches and pats Sesi and Karst upon the shoulders. "Let us return this prize to the Dragon and prepare a feast in our honor!"
His two squires rush forward and lift the beast onto a spare horse, preparing to return to Sandpoint.
"Wow!" Lia sets her spear aside as the boar dies. "That wasn't so hard after all!"
Karst wipes a few errant drops of boar blood from his face.
Pendrix lets out a sigh of relief, thankful it went as well as it did.
"Wow, that went better than I thought it would," Sesi says absently, but her mouth already waters at the thought of roast boar for supper.
The journey back was uneventful, save Aldern's constant beaming of your abilities in the hunt. He kept adding on little details to the tale, making quite the grand epic by the time you returned to the Rusty Dragon.
The townsfolk wandering around during lunchtime saw your triumphant return and applauded your success. Ameiko met you all at the front doors, guiding the pages in with the boar, muttering to herself how to best prepare the beast.
Aldern leads you all to the "best table" and seats you all, sitting between Sesi and Lia.
"What shall I order for us all to drink while we wait for the cook's decision?"
"Something not-so-hard this time. I need to relax, but not that badly. Mead or wine, maybe?"
Karst scratches his whiskers contemplatively. "With pork? Stout. Or maybe a nice lager (if they have one here with a kick to it)."
"I'm up for just about anything, really." Lia says, crossing her legs nervously as Aldern sits next to her.
As Aldern waves over the halfling barmaid, the doors burst open and an angry voice exclaims in a foreign tongue:
The other patrons avoid their eyes from the livid Tian man, who continues to shout Ameiko's name, his face turning a dangerous shade of red.
Karst peers at the man over a drink of beer. "What's this then?"
Lia winces as she sees who walked in the door. "Oh, dear. Ameiko's dad is here. Just ignore him, and maybe he'll go away..."
Karst leans forward and speaks to Lia in low tones across the table. "What's his problem?"
"I don't know." Lia pointedly looks into her drink. "But he's yelling Ameiko's name a lot, so..."
The angered man then looks around, trying to lock eyes with someone, but then spots you. His scowl then twists into a sneer.
"Oh, look, if it isn't Sandpoint's newest pack of heroes?" He kind of swaggers over to your table, his intent malicious. "I hope you haven't let your recent "triumphs" get to your heads. Vantas, I would have thought you better than glory-seeking." He directs this last one at Lia, as he recognizes her as a local and knows of her.
Aldern starts to stand, as if to speak against Lonjiku, but the older man almost snarls at the outsider noble. "Sit down, Foxglove. You have no say in my town!" Aldern casts a "puppy-dog" look at Lia before sitting back down.
Lia sighs in resignation. Great. So much for him leaving us alone.
"Sir, mayor Deverin is the one in charge of the town, not you." She takes a sip from her drink. "I think he has as much of a right to speak as anyone else here."
"And frankly, I wasn't interested in 'glory' so much as making sure my father was safe and sound." She glances up at Lonjiku. "I thought you'd be more understanding of that."
Pendrix stares pointedly at his alcohol, but keeps a sharp ear out.
Karst drinks deeply, filling his mouth with brew instead of harsh words, leveling a steady gaze at the old man.