"We should empty and re-fill our waterskins from the spring."
She returns Bein's skin to him, then empties her own waterskin and re-fills it from the spring.
Hymenopterix:
Xarafine considers re-dedicating the area as a shrine to Viarda, goddess of life. She is concerned that this might interfere with the healing magic of the spring.
Re-dedicating the spring would likely interfere with the healing properties of the spring unless a ritual which would both take many days, and require stronger magics than you possess were completed.
Bein nods and moves back to Arundel to do as was asked by the Teacher, he takes several draws off his waterskin before pouring some on Arundel's eager tongue. After emptying it completely he returns to Teacher Xarafine and hands the now empty skin to her. As she fills it he turns and keeps his eyes to the surrounding woods, something didn't feel quite right about this. He nods to Pervilesh and Tyg as he speaks "If I may ask, What do you know of this place honorable fey-ones?"
Bein nods and moves back to Arundel to do as was asked by the Teacher, he takes several draws off his waterskin before pouring some on Arundel's eager tongue. After emptying it completely he returns to Teacher Xarafine and hands the now empty skin to her. As she fills it he turns and keeps his eyes to the surrounding woods, something didn't feel quite right about this. He nods to Pervilesh and Tyg as he speaks "If I may ask, What do you know of this place honorable fey-ones?"
"This nice place! - This place of sitting-stone-stripy-fur-head-bigguns. This place old. Water this place nice; hurt four-legs drink water then four-legs not hurt."
"When did the stone bigguns break? Where is its head?"
Since the Teacher vouches for the virtue of this magic, Volpe will also refill his waterskin.
"When did the stone bigguns break? Where is its head?"
And what do you think broke it?
[b]"Don't know what broke stone-bigguns. Tyg and Pervilash live many-tree-place long time, stone-bigguns broke long time when Tyg arrive. Stone-bigguns broke long time when Pervilash arrive. Tyg doesn't know what broke stone-bigguns."[b]
"Is it possible the water would lose its properties if it is taken away from here?" Jack asks Xerafine. He knew the Teacher probably knew what she was talking about, but he didn't like to follow instructions blindly.
"There is no way to know with absolute certainty until we leave the area, but the water is clean and pure regardless of whether or not its healing properties are tied to the water itself or to the location. I suppose there might be a possibility of there being some sort of baleful enchantment placed on the water that turns it to poison when removed from the area, but it seems unlikely."
She smiles reassuringly at the ranger.
"If you do not wish to fill your skin from the spring, Master Ciarathan, I for one, will not demand that you do so."
Jack shook his head. "You make a good point. Clean spring water is still clean spring water, regardless."
He opens his waterskin and fills it. As he does so Jack nods to the broken statue good-naturedly. "Would we could fix your wounds as well, my lady." He wondered at who must have lived her so long ago, to build such a thing. Was this forest growing over lost ruins? How many places were like this around here. He found himself looking forward to continuing the exploration, and paused to be sure their notes on the map were well updated.
However, remembering Volpe's admonition, he did pause to mark this area in a way in which they would understand its significance, but a random reader would not.
Does anyone want to look at anything else here? Otherwise I suggest moving on. This was a boon find, and I doubt our fortunes could improve further by remaining. It's more likely to turn for the worse. Besides, we've got promises to keep, and and we're still a long way from collecting the five hundred pieces.
As everyone is talking Bein starts removeing the build up of moss, and lichen, off the broken statue to see it more clearly while showing some proper respect to the unknown figure. It is the work of a few minutes to wipe away some of the debris and reveal more details. After he takes a good look at the broken statue he idly begins sweeping the area in a crude grid pattern as he checks for any oddly shaped rocks in the area around them.
Despite searching you are unable to locate the figure's head.
Sighing with slight frustration, Bein shuts his visor and gets ready to mount up once everyone is ready to go. He does look about nervously at the woods around them and twirls his blade to keep himself from being too rigid and tense.
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Sighing with slight frustration, Bein shuts his visor and gets ready to mount up once everyone is ready to go. He does look about nervously at the woods around them and twirls his blade to keep himself from being too rigid and tense.
Volpe watches Bein toying with a blade, a bit startled. He says nothing, but mounts up and joins the group on the road.
Seeing his comrades starting to mount up Bein sheathes his sword and quickly hops into the saddle and takes hold of his lance and lifts it so it points toward the heavens. As he moves to his normal position in their line, while lightly humming to himself as he waits for them to start moving again. He continues to keep his eyes on the woods and the trail before them, looking for any possible threats.
You comtinue onwards to the east, at noon you come to a small stream bubbling gently over small rounded river rocks (The Thorn River). Your trail swings southwards as you follow the river's course as it bends gradually around to the east again. As the sun begins to set you find yourselves at a very beautiful crystal-clear pool of water, about 30 feet across, from which the river flows. Glancing around its not clear what is filling the pool - possibly some type of subterranian spring. This seems to be the source of the Thorn River itself.
Finnabar, deep in his thought about the former inhabitants of this land snaps out of his daydream as the party reaches the source.
"Let's camp here. We're not equipped to travel at night and I don't think an hour will make a big change in the end.
After dinner, Volpe prepares for his evening exercises, but rather than his usual rapier patterns, he collects his sabre.
Bein'Meleth? Would you mind sparring with me? I'm afraid I've let my skills get rusty with the sabre, and would do well with a live opponent to challenge me.
Bein was just finishing setting up the picket line as Volpe asked his question. Wiping sweat from his brow Bein smiles and nods to Volpe. "It would be very nice to have a sparring partner, I'm become far too tense in these woods and being rigid in a battle will more then likely get me killed. As my instructor once said [i]"Easy Training, Hard Battles, Hard Training, Easy battles.' So shall I spar with or without my armor? it is up to you, friend."
After the camp is setup, Bein readies himself for the sparring match by checking his blade and making sure the grip isn't to worn down. He didn't want it to slip and accidentally strike Volpe with the blade.
Bein was just finishing setting up the picket line as Volpe asked his question. Wiping sweat from his brow Bein smiles and nods to Volpe. "It would be very nice to have a sparring partner, I'm become far too tense in these woods and being rigid in a battle will more then likely get me killed. As my instructor once said [i]"Easy Training, Hard Battles, Hard Training, Easy battles.' So shall I spar with or without my armor? it is up to you, friend."
After the camp is setup, Bein readies himself for the sparring match by checking his blade and making sure the grip isn't to worn down. He didn't want it to slip and accidentally strike Volpe with the blade.
Well, since you think hard training is advisable, let's go armored!
Volpe gives his shoulders a quick stretch, salutes Bein with his blade, and assumes the 'En Garde' position. When Bein acknowledges ready, Volpe throws a few easy strikes and parries, then tightens his defense.
It's not like you to get careless with a weapon, so I figured you could use the workout. Something specific bothering you?
Bein shuts his visor and, after saluting Volpe like he would another cavalier, brings his shield to the fore and keeps his defenses tight as he parries the incoming swift strikes of volpes blade. The man is indeed very quick... When he finally decided to push the advantage he put just enough power into his blows to cause Volpe a jolt as he parried Bein's strikes. Bein had been taught then facing a faster opponent it was better to tire them out and slowly defeat them, then moving hastily and getting a knife in the short ribs when his armor opened from preparing to strike.
Bein smiles behind his visor as he replies to Volpe's question. "I was merely keeping myself loose as I have been much too tense in these woods. As trees and underbrush are a knights worst opponents since they can be used for cover or possibly lame a destrier during a poorly executed charge..." He blocks another couple of swift strikes from Volpe's sabre, as they tapped his shield and slid across his longsword Bein gave a low whistle at his prowess before striking back like a hammer and bouncing off Volpe's blade again. "Besides that I am trying to remain focused on the mission, as it seems I have allowed myself to grow much to..." Another couple of swift taps bouncing off shield, and a glancing shot across his shoulder plate. "distracted." He chuckles as he redoubles his defense.
Xarfine wanders over to the edge of the pool, kneels at the edge and stares into its surface for several minutes, and allowing herself to sink into calm meditation, tuning out the ringing of Volpe and Bein's weapons.
She lightly touches the surface of the water.
"Beautiful," she remarks quietly.
She removes her shoes, and lifts her robe just enough to expose her knees, and lowers her feet into the water. She splashes lightly with her toes and stretches back on to the grass, pillowing her head with her arms.
The man is a fortress! Volpe's shoulder was beginning to ache. He'd definitely neglected the sabre too long, and this was punishment. Bein was on the defensive. In all that armor?
Aye, and being in the forest is the nature of our task. I doubt Restov is going to push any roads through 'til we're finished.
Defense. He's relying pretty heavily on the shield. So treat it like a weapon.
With a little caution and an easy pace, the horses shouldn't be at much risk, at least not more than the rest of us
Feint to provoke a shield block, step inside ready to parry a sword.
As for distractions...
Bein staggers as a root catches his boot and he barely brings up his shield to block the coming blow from Volpe. But when Volpe stepped in and parried his sword stroke Bein found his well maintained defense had been blown wide open. Now he was moving desperately to stop Volpe from getting any more precise strikes. Between grunts he tries to right himself and regain his previous stance, but the further he got the more he realized it was a lost cause and after taking another swift strikes Bein falls back into the dirt with a crash of steel as his armor breaks his fall. With the wind nearly knocked out of him Bein gives a hearty laugh.
"Well played, Volpe! We will have to start again, I must admit I underestimated the speed and accuracy of such a light blade but *grunts* in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing... Makes it a wonderful day of sparring" It takes Bein a moment to roll over and push himself back up to his feet. With his adrenaline pumping Bein's youthful vigor was kicking into high gear. {Time for a change of tactics~}
Well! the terrain proved treacherous after all! Still, being tense and distracted all the time is bound to wear you out. Does no good to worry about something when can't do anything about it at the moment.
Volpe returns to the 'En Garde' stance, nods that he's ready.
This kid's gonna flatten me now.
As Bein and Volpe begin to spar Pervilash lets loose a shrill whistle and disappears from view. Tyg, meanwhile gasps and looks alarmed...: "Why bigguns fight?
After the mistake is explained the two fey look somewhat nonplussed but seem to enjoy the two fighters sparring.
12th Day of Pharast
The next day you awake feeling refreshed and relaxed, all of you seem to have slept very well, a sleep that seems to hold the sensation of pleasent dreams which slip from your memory as you mentally grasp for them. After quickly breaking camp and travelling for a little less than an hour you come to an area of the forest which seems no different from any other until you finally notice a huge log which is jutting upwards from a gap between two bolders. As you approach a striped dog-like creature glances up and dissapears into the undergrowth with a short, sharp yap.
Feeling bad about the accidental fright he had given the small fey, Bein makes a point of setting up the music box for them during his watch and hopefully spends the night talking with them after it finishes playing. He is very interested in what they have to say as he takes notes in his journal for the letter he was preparing to send his sister.
Bein settles his lance back in its holder as he dismounts, after he is firmly on the ground he draw's his sword and keeps an eye on where the striped dog had gone. He twirls his blade expertly in anticipation for a sudden attack. He gives Arundel a sharp command to guard near the Draught beasts as he protects from the other side.
"It may be best if I remain here and protect our mules and such my Lord and Lady Teacher. Between Arundel and I we will bring it to heel if anything tries to take us unawares."
12th Day of PharastThe next day you awake feeling refreshed and relaxed, all of you seem to have slept very well, a sleep that seems to hold the sensation of pleasent dreams which slip from your memory as you mentally grasp for them. After quickly breaking camp and travelling for a little less than an hour you come to an area of the forest which seems no different from any other until you finally notice a huge log which is jutting upwards from a gap between two bolders. As you approach a striped dog-like creature glances up and dissapears into the undergrowth with a short, sharp yap.
"It may be best if I remain here and protect our mules and such my Lord and Lady Teacher. Between Arundel and I we will bring it to heel if anything tries to take us unawares."
Jack knows he was not being spoken to, but replies, "I think we caught it unawares more than anything."
You don't recognise the individual but, based on your knowledge of animals you can make the following guesses about it:
It's likely that it's primarily an ambush predator and scavenger mainly found in forested areas (based on its patterning). The yap remindes you of the howling that Xerafine reported several days ago and it seems likely that this is the same or a similar type of creature.
Jack knows he was not being spoken to, but replies, "I think we caught it unawares more than anything."
A hunter is rarely caught unawares unless he's already got his prey. Let's see what kind of spoils this fellow brought down today.
Volpe rides up to the twin boulders, dismounts and steps behind the upraised log. He stoop to see if the wild dog had anything he was protecting or hiding.
Squeezed below the log, which appears to have fallen from above you find the half-eaten remains of a man. Judging from the state of the clothes and of the body he's been dead for at least a couple of weeks.
Jack follows behind Volpe, and wrinkles his nose as they see the striped hound's "prize."
"Scavenger, then. But likely will also ambush prey when on the lookout for food. I think the howling Xerafine heard a few days ago was probably from a creature like that."
He frowns, turning back toward the party. "The beast's dinner was the long-dead corpse of a man. So the one dead 'bigguns' is not the only hunter or poacher in these parts."
If the beast's just a scavenger, then how did the man actually die?
Not particularly relishing the thought of examining the rotten corpse, Volpe nevertheless ties a bandanna around his face, and stoops to take a look.
Search
Knowledge:Local
Knowledge:Nobility
The log appears to have fallen from above and crushed the man. A rope hangs down, connecting the log to an overhanging branch. Nearby another section of rope is attached to a trip line - it looks like a deadfall trap. Nearby an axe is buried in the bark of a tree where another section of rope hangs. The end of the rope appears to have been cut by something sharp but is freyed as if it were chewed not sliced.
Tyg pipes up.. "Here bad-bigguns. You ask bring to bad-bigguns long sleep. Here bad-bigguns long-sleep."
Leaving Arundel to guard the draught beasts Bein moves to join his comrades but stops short as he looks over the scene before him. For a moment he just stood there not knowing whether to be angry or shocked at how many potentially deadly traps they had passed by thus far. And now they had discovered the man had been killed by his own dead fall trap backfiring on him, caused Bein's blood to start boiling in anger. This hunter wasn't hunting at all he was just plain being viscious, to everyone and everything. With a sigh he sheathes his sword and gets ready to shift the logs off the corpse. "As much as this eccentric wished to be left alone in life, I cannot allow him to remain like this in death. I will work to shift the logs and perhaps we can burn the remaining portion of his body for some type of last rites..."
With that he moved forwsrd intent on moving the heavy logs until they could safely remove the remains.
Xarafine studies the man's corpse, looking for some clue as to who he might have been.
"He could have been anyone...we should bury his remains respectfully. I will say a prayer to the Mistress of Bones that his soul finds rest."
Caught in his own trap. Maybe it's just my suspicious nature, but I'm not convinced this was an accident.
Caught in his own trap. Maybe it's just my suspicious nature, but I'm not convinced this was an accident.
Xarafine places a hand on Volpe's arm and speaks softly under her breath. "It wasn't. Our small traveling companions admitted to killing him."
While Bein gets to dislodge the logs, Finnabar dismounts and retrieve a spade from the pack horse. Looking around for a good digging site, he starts digging deep enough so the beasts cannot reach the corpse.
"This was no accident, but whatever his fate and demeanour, we must give him the last rites."
Caught in his own trap. Maybe it's just my suspicious nature, but I'm not convinced this was an accident.Xarafine places a hand on Volpe's arm and speaks softly under her breath. "It wasn't. Our small traveling companions admitted to killing him."
Nine Gods! I guess I'm not used to their dialect yet. It's true, though, that he deserves the respect that any dead man does. I should help.
Jack helps as he can as well.
"Much as I hate to suggest it, should any of his belongings are salvageable, perhaps we ought to preserve them. He may have a map of the area or some such. And the keys to those traps."
Bein nods at Jack's words as he quickly replies, his voice solemn but confident. "We leave this world much as we entered it Jack and if I found anything valuable on the dead that could prove useful to save or help those who were alive. Then I wouldn't hesitate to use what resource's I found. The dead have no use for it so why allow it to waste away or be lost when the living still need it?" With that he nods respectfully to Jack and continues to move the logs around, he was sweating buckets inside his armor but at least the work was getting done, albeit very slowly.
We enter the world helpless, naked and screaming. If that's how I go out, too, at least it will be dramatic.
The body doesn't seem to have anything much of interest, just the standard equipment you'd expect to find on any wilderness trapper. This consists of:
Clothing (Moldy torn, showing signs of animal bites presumably from scavengers)
a knife (badly rusted)
some keys (In a pocket. These fit the padlocks which held the bear traps to the trees when you test them)
A tent (moldy), flint and tinder, a wet-stone, and a backpack (also moldy) containing fishing line, some rotted rations, 20 soverigns worth of coins (15 GP, 40 SP and 100 CP), and some animal-fur cold weather clothing (moldy).
After you have examined the corpse and taken whatever you want from it Tyg bids you fare-well...
"We bring yous biggunses bad-biggunses long-sleep, you take metal ground-teeth. You nice-bigguns! Pervilash want go home, Tyg want go home also. Yous nice-biggunses fun a bit but now Pervilash and Tyg say goodbye. You want talk Tyg again you come to place water comes from ground. Tyg find nice-biggunses then. Nice-biggunses have good luck with drawing land! Goodbye nice biggunses.
With that she waves and the two fey disappear into the forest. Pervilash sumersautling wildly as he goes.
He gives the strange pair a quick salute as they begin to leave. "Hopefully we will meet again Tyg and Pervilash, until then may peace and fair travels grace your steps." He smiles after the odd pair before returning to the business at hand with the remains.
Jack waves good-bye at the strange little creatures, wondering what other strange creatures they will meet in the wood. Part of him is still a little perturbed at what he sees as their sabotage of their supplies, but he is also glad that it has met peaceful resolution.
If they are all salvageable, Jack will suggest the group takes the keys, the flint and tinderbox, the whetstone--mundane items but never un-useful. He will ask to keep the fishing line (he's got a fishing hook and would like to catch some fish when they have the opportunity).
Once the trapper's body is buried. Xarafine stands at the foot of the grave, and prepares to administer a brief funerary rite.
"I did not know your heart, may the Nine will judge you fairly in the hereafter."
In Canari:
"Fecund Mother Viarda, release his hand, and bid him farewell. Queen Malaia, open your arms in welcome embrace."
Bein remains silent until the Teacher is done before adding his own two cents to the burial rites. His tone is somber and respectful, even though his words seem harsh. "Hopefully what was given to you today will show in the next life, live not wastefully as you have, live not a stranger as you did and give onto those who are deserving as you were today. May peace go with you unto your next life..."
He stands ready to receive the brunt of the teachers wrath but he spoke the words he believed needed to be said. If no rebuke comes then he picks up the rusted knife and its battered sheath, hoping to possibly restore the blade, before walking back to check on their draught beasts and Arundel. he didn't trust the woods nor what else lay hidden or lurking where he could not see...