He then fires a single shot, from as far away as he can, and starts moving towards Baca's hut.
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Kakao moves diagonal to the path that people are attempting to draw the Hollow Man. Seeing the wooden wards, he shouts "Is it too optimistic to hope those stick men are guardians that will attack the monster?"
Karl renews the light spell at barca's hut, so the area is well lit.
He Then moves to join the party
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Caramir's arrow flies well over the golem's head. The wards and the golem proceed to Baca's hut. Although they seem to make no remark of you at all. The Hollow Man's head does not turn. The wood wards to not assail you. They move quickly to the door of the hut together.
Mikka moves to put herself between the villagers and the Hollow Man's party. Meanwhile, Zephyr circles overhead.
At the door of Baca's house, a spindly wood ward skitters inside like a four-legged spider. The Hollow Man stands at the door, looking dumbly down into the dark.
Okrin approaches, but doesn't get too close.
Go in you dumb lump of wood. Morti, if it doesn't go in, we'll charged the bugger.
Ever curious, Kakao moves up to try and see what the creatures are doing in the hut.
"Charging the things might not be the best of ideas, fellas. These things don't move like normal creatures."
Morti maneuvers around the cluster of wood wards, trying to get a good line to rush the Hollow Man. Not sure we've another choice, Kakao.
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The wood ward that skittered inside skitters back outside quietly, returning to the feet of the crooked Wood Golem.
A quick idiot wail escapes the Hollow Man, and he begins to walk east towards the woods. The wood wards continue to watch your party closely as it departs. They set themselves between your group and the Hollow Man.
As the Hollow Man gets ready to go, he holds his bone-white wooden scythe up to the stars above.
This picture is a pretty good example of the type of Dugout home Baca's family would have lived in.
Shaking his head.
"I'm not sure if our plan is going to work out quite the way we imagined. So should I run into the house? Will we try and push it in?"
As he waits for the others to reply, Okrin looks around trying to orient himself. Where did he bury those strange mushrooms?
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Puzzled, Kakao notes "It looks to me like the monster is just going to leave. I see no reason to get ourselves killed if it isn't going to attack anyone."
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I'm all in favor of not gettin' killed needlessly, agrees Morti. He holds on his charge, but continues to eye the wood wards cautiously.
"They're leaving?" - Caramir lets out - "Were they looking for something?"
The dead creature you threw in there?
Unless it just happens that 'e was comin' for Baca tonight regardless, it seems we have learned how targets are marked, at least, and know where to pick up his trail again.
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The hollow man is...
Following his same route back out of the village, toward the many trees north of Baca's house. The wood wards shadow him.
He moves into the shadows of the trees and disappears among the many columnar trunks of wood.
When you lose sight of him, the wood wards collapse to the ground.
"Can any of you make out where the creature went? I lost it shortly after it got to the trees."
Focused on the rear guard wood wards, Morti loses sight of the Hollow Man as well.
"I can't make out anything beyond the tree line."
Mikka studies the trees at the site of the dissapperance hoping for any indication of what happened.
Karl flops to the ground, exhausted by the tension release.
It's gone.
For a long moment he says nothing staring at the ground.
Odd. It's leaving like that. Did it seem confused to you? It did to me. As if it's instructions were no longer relevant.
He gets up.
We have to follow it, find out where it came from. Let's look at the tree is vanished near first, see if we can find a trail or a clue.
Karl, hefts his axe, and starts to the tree.
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Trained in the ways of the wilderness, keen of eye and quick with spell, Mikka will notice. Mikka knows and notices. Mikka watches as the Hollow man carries his scythe into a tree. The golem she stalks will walk into the tree and disappear inside of it. It is almost as if he has merged within it.
Trying to keep his eye on the spot where he last saw the Hollow Man, Kakao joins the others at the tree line. I wonder if this is where the sticks were pulled up.
"I'm willing to look a bit, but I've enough of running wildly through the woods for one night, especially chasing a walking tree!" Kakao states. Bacchanalia are a different matter.
So what do we do now?
Disappeared into th' tree? responds Morti quizzically. Is that why we don't find any tracks for 'im? ...but we saw 'im walking through the woods, earlier, so 'e doesn't always come out of trees?
He paces around the tree, trying to help Mikka figure out what's gone on.
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It's a tree. Perhaps an elm. Some places have knots in the wood. The bark is rough, like the bark on other trees. It also seems pretty old, but so do all the other trees around it.
As Morti paces around he thinks to himself just how similar this tree is to other trees. Maybe a cat ran through here earlier, but there is not a sign of the Hollow Man's passing.
"It must be a spell, or some sort of magical ability Morti" - Caramir pipes in, moving closer to the others.
Trying to keep his eye on the spot where he last saw the Hollow Man, Kakao joins the others at the tree line. I wonder if this is where the sticks were pulled up.
"I'm willing to look a bit, but I've enough of running wildly through the woods for one night, especially chasing a walking tree!" Kakao states. Bacchanalia are a different matter.
"I have to agree" - the elf nods - "It has become quite evident it is pointless to chase the Hollow Man - we either cannot follow him, or take too long to reach him, or end up chasing him back into Levoca" - frustration evident in his voice - "And we may have just found the reason why it always outruns us" - he shrugs.
"I have no intention whatsoever of chasing it anymore. Its destiny is always Levoca. We should prepare to fight him here"
"The trees act as gateways for him, perhaps those with creatures nailed to them are markers, indicating trees he can use to travel." Mikka suggests.
Listening to the others and chiming in with a guess of his own.
Or maybe the animals mark trees for the creature to stop at. Perhaps even a way to slow it or guide it?
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"I also wonder why it hesitated at Baca's house"
Yawning, Kakao says "I'm wondering when and where we are going to sleep."
Seeing that everyone is gathered together around the tree, he uses up the last of his channels and then goes over to Karl and uses a healing spell.
Looking around, he then states "I'm done. Seems you want to talk all night. You can tell me tomorrow what you figure out."
He then wanders off to find a place to sleep.
Slowly following Kakao while trying to convince the others to follow.
"I'd suggest we stick together. I can take the first watch if you all promise to let me sleep in."
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It comes to the end of Okrin's watch. Most of the village is in bed. The villagers extinguish the torches and a token villager accompanies each of you on your watches. Most of you are asleep in the barn. From the North_East, the wind carries and idiot moan. The Hollow Man walks into the village carrying a head.
It is the head of Baca.
White scythe stained by drying blood, pale grim mask held aloft, it is the Hollow Man. He waves the head of Baca around, and turns to leave.
Yelling frantically, though trying not to seem frantic.
"Baca! The creature killed Baca!'
Nudging whoever is closest roughly to insure they wake, Okrin turns to pursue the creature.
Kakao lets out a soft "Hmpph!" when Okrin roughly wakes him. Go away, I want to sleep!
Lifting his head, he tries to figure out what all the yelling is about.
Seeing Okrin running towards the retreating monster, he exclaims "The creature is already leaving. Let it leave so we can all get some sleep. It may not tire, but I do!"
Caramir finds himself walking in a sun-drenched meadow full of wildflowers. In the middle of the meadow rises a single stately tree with sky-blue leaves. As he passes under its branches...
...an oatmeal bread roll, still warm, hits him lightly on the back of the head.
As he turns, he sees Cyanne in one of the branches, a basket of bread ammunition cradled in one arm, laughing.
"Caramir! Over here! I thought you'd never sleep."
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Barely able to open his eyes against the sunlight, Caramir realizes he is smiling at the warmth in his face. The smell around him is intoxicating, and he doesn't even question the fact that Levoca is nowhere to be seen, instead just moving ever forward, his senses invaded.
"Cyanne, there you are!" - the elf laughs at seeing his friend - "I've been looking all over for you, ever since..." - his words are halted, as if they were... Wrong?
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At the screams, Caramir gets up, grabs his backpack, bow and ammunition, and dashes outside. His heart sinks completely when he sees Bacca's head, heart sunk for a moment.
"Enough" - he whispers, a single tear running down his cheek - "This ends today!" - he shouts to his companions, chasing the Hollow Man without hesitation, securing his backpack.
Earlier@Thanks for the healing, Kakao
Karl stirs Can't a mage get some sleep? he grumps.
When he sees what's going on, he says
No Caramir, don't provoke it... too late as the arrow flies.
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Morti starts awake at Okrin's cry, scrabbling at the ground next to him for a moment before finding his hammer and creaking to his feet. "Baca? Here? But 'e left?"
Spotting the head in the monster's hands, he halts in surprise, his weapon drooping. It hunted him down. An'...we told it to. An' it came back here to show us we couldn't outwit it so--not such a dim puppet as we'd thought.
"Caramir," he calls sadly, holding his ground, "He's showin' us that 'e's won tonight's fight, and 'e knows it. Naught we can do the now."
"Cyanne, there you are!" - the elf laughs at seeing his friend - "I've been looking all over for you, ever since..." - his words are halted, as if they were... Wrong?
Her face softens. He doesn't remember, not here. She knows all about the cruelty and kindness of dreams, tidying away unwanted truths. The knowledge of her death lay nestled out of sight like moldy onions in a pantry. Sooner rather than later he'd sniff it out, and it would hurt like hell.
No, she would tell him herself. Lies have never been her style, not even lies of omission.
"...since I died," she says gently. "I'm dead, Caramir. My soul is transitioning, moving on to the starry fields of Kel's sky." As she speaks, the stars come out, spinning around them in a suddenly darker sky. But her tree is still there, the blue leaves still glowing with the colors of spring, and the flowery meadow still blooms.
"But before I leave... I wanted one last chance to be with you. This is an in-between place, where time can stop and worlds can meet." She gestures, and a moonlit bridge descends from her branch down to Caramir's feet.
From behind her, a small black furry head pokes out. A cat stretches, yawns and then bounces down the moonlit steps to rub Caramir's legs. Cyanne smiles indulgently at the little animal. "Speaking of the meeting of worlds... He just wandered in here, bold as brass and twice as proud. I think he's looking for you."
She raises an eyebrow. "Now will you come up, or do I need to pelt you with another bread roll?" She gestures to her basket of rolls and grins.
"Caramir," he calls sadly, holding his ground, "He's showin' us that 'e's won tonight's fight, and 'e knows it. Naught we can do the now."
Kakao adds "It seems to be trumping our strategies at every turn. Let's discuss this further tomorrow, after morning rituals. See if we can't come up with some better ideas. We will want to recover our equipment tomorrow as well."
Hopefully we will get a chance to follow through on some of them.
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Nobody hits anything. The Hollow Man exits.
Some of the village menfolk stir and come to join you half-dressed.
As everything settles down, you all realize that Mak is missing, and has been absent for some time. In the barn, you find a note addressed to Karl.
I've almost been gutted by this monnie three times now. You fool millers can keep the crimson I've spit. Want nothing of this half-penny port. I have enough tiggly tales. Its not my bargain to become the victim in one.
Watch your feet brother,
MC
Shaking his head.
"On my watch. I don't know who is on watch next, but I'm going to try and sleep."
"No!" - Caramir shouts, chasing the Hollow Man into the woods.