Cashara also tries to follow very slowly, keeping an eye on Cal and the bears.
DeVill clutches the Vixen with a white knuckle grasp with one hand and his cane in the other, his eyes fixated on the chickcub.
Cashara follow Caledon slowly as he attempts to calm the beast... And fails horribly!
The Cub stretches out its neck a bit more and cocks it's head.
"Coo?"
Suddenly the pair of eye ion the brush rise up and out and standing before you is a 10ft tall beast, with razor sharp beak and talons and a look of rage in its eyes... It was the Mama and she did not look happy!
Immediately Minkins whips around and starts running in the direction of the house, crashing though foliage and mud along the way, screaming at the top of his lungs!
VV charges the mama bear with a nonlethal kick.
Cashara comes up and takes advantage of Var's charge and slashes at it with the bass knife.
The Vixen flys forward, a wicked kick connecting with the Mama Owl's gut! The bear stumbles back slightly and lets out hooting snarl! Cashara tries to take this opportunity to attack but both of her swings only manage to get pieces of fur and feathers!
Mama roars a shrieking roar and brings he claws down on both The Vixen and Cashara
The claws come down, raking into both women's flesh!
Baby Owl gets up on his feet and runs behind his mother!
Martha quickly backs away and hides behind a tree, while Madam Zulu takes a step back and picks up a short but heavy looking branch!
The Vixen attempts to trip the bird-bear, and kick it unconscious!
d20+6+6+2-2 / d8+6+4+2
d20+6+6+2-2-5 / d8+6+4+2
The Vixen commences to strike the Mother relentlessly! She first trips the Owl and then lands a fury of blows down upon it! The bear screeches in surprise and rage before the Vixen's heel make contact with it's temple and it fall unconscious!
The owlet cub lets out a low coo as it escapes into the underbrush!
Cashara blinks in surprise.
"remind me no to get on your bad side." she says
"now lets go"
Caledon covers their tracks as they leave.
The Vixen says, “Poor thing… let’s get away from it, and hope the baby’ll stick around when the mother wakes.
“Martha, dear?” VV offers her hand to her gentle friend. “Stay close to me, sweetie. Yer me cub.”
"that fool Minkens bolted." I say very irritably
The Vixen considers a way to get a Minkins back… but seeing Cal trying to keep the party’s tracks covered, she says, “His choice.”
To Zulu, Devill and Martha, she says, “We can only keep people alive if they stay with the group. Anyone decides to go off on their own, best o’ luck. There’s a short list o’ people I’m willing to die for.”
Gently taking Martha’s hand, she adds, “Ye’re on it, so you especially, me dear friend… don’t e’er do what Minkins did.”
Martha attempts to come out of hiding causally, dusting off her tunic. At the same time a shocked DeVill quietly taps the Vixens shoulder as his entire body quivers in her arms.
Zulu glaces back the direction Minkins ran and mutters something under her breath before giving Cashara and VV a odd look and saying, her voice slightly trembling,
"Well, no time to waste!I'm assuming that we are looking for the cabins, correct?"
As the group continues on, Caledon makes sure to not leave behind a trail for Amp or the Owlbear.
Martha looks at the Vixen with a slight blush,
"I'm a grown woman. Just had a moment of weakness, is all. But thank you."
The Vixen can still see that her eyes are a bit red from her sobbing earlier.
Madam Zulu stays near the back along with Caledon, her lips pressed flat and club still in hand. She too seems to be covering the party's tracks.
Cahsara moves on in the leade to lead the way to the cabin
"Stay in sight of one another." She says. "easy to get lost in here."
The Vixen says sweetly, “I don’t mean like yer a child, Martha. Ye know Vikki and I were close, and Uncle Henry was family… and now Hanako, me li’l Fashion Bug’s gone and I… I can’t even mourn.”
Addison can. The Vixen persona is supposed to keep her shit in a crisis.
But she does feel. Love especially. Martha may be a married woman and is most definitely guilty of something, but she’s still a longtime friend, former client, and… a very dear creature who should be cherished, forgive, alive to atone or alive to just be her precious self.
“I can’t lose ye, too.”
But on her face she holds a genuine smile and a stiff upper lip.
Martha gives a small smile and says with brave determination,
"Don't worry. I'm not dying here. I wont die here... Now come on, we've a cabin to fine!"
"Y-you... you c-can put me down now..." DeVill stutters out to the Vixen. Or just anyone willing to listen.
The Vixen does as DeVill asks, but says, “If Cal says I gotta carry ye to speed our pace, ye get carried.”
She can mend the tears in clothing, should the party turn the dampener off. She’s not sure if anyone can mend the wounds.
She looks at Madame Zulu with genuine admiration. “The years’ve been kind to ye, Madame Zulu. I mean that. Ye’ve clearly a gift similar to Cal… but maybe more than that. Yer wisdom can’t be all grandfather stories—ye got yer own experience, and yer own wisdom.
“I ain’t a gambler, but if I were I’d bet ye’re the best suited among us to find that cabin.”
Hearing Var's comment, Cashara turns around to take a better look at Zulu. That confidence was a little encouraging.
And then she continues forward.
When Vixen mentions his 'gift' a brief look of surprise crosses his face. Then he takes on pensive expression as he continues hiding their tracks for a few hundred more feet.
"If we find a place to rest for a few hours I can try to do something about your wounds."
Caledon periodically checks for signs Buckley is stalking them.
Zulu doesn't look up from her work as she says,
"Please, do not talk to me, I'm trying to concentrate."
She says it with a rather irritable tone, but with a slight hint of gratitude.
The wizard checks for signs of being followed, but sees nothing.
The party continues forward, the gunslinger leading the way through the difficult terrain.
The Vixen cracks a smile at Zulu’s response. She respectfully obeys her elder.
The party trudges through the woods, each member keeping a close eye out for the cabin. Just when everyone is sure the hour head-start should be ending soon...
Our heroes see a clearing up ahead! In the middle of so said clearing sits a lonely, rustic hunting cabin. Made out logs and wooden pegs the cabin gives off a homey, cheerful vibe. Above the stair leading to the small, shaded porch, a pair of moose antlers are being displayed. On the porch is a rocking chair and a wooden bowl resting on the ground. The windows are drawn, with lovely green paisley curtains. Sticking out of the wooden roof is a stone chimney and a dragon weather vain.
Cashara will see that its handmade, much like, but much nicer than, the shacks people build on the west side.
VV will recognize the cabin to be similar to the cabins Uncle Henry would take her and Vikki out in the fall.
And Caledon will note that it looks like what he imagined the cabins many of the elite will brag about having for country side getaways.
As the heroes approach the clearing the heavy rain suddenly stops. Your guessing that the signal that your hour is up...
The Vixen enters the cabin. She immediately calls for her fairy, hoping—desperately!—that her little friend is here with some of the missing belongings…
“Hanako? Fashion Bug, are ye in here?”
"Cal, Val, I want some help searching the cabin."[b] Cashara say. [b]"no one shpould be in there alone."
and she helps VV search first
The Vixen crosses over the "Wipe Your Dog-Gone Feet!" welcome mat (complete with paw-prints!) and opens the door!
The inside of the cabin is lit by a lamp in the corner, casting a warm glow across the room. On the fireplace mantle sits photographs and portraits of Henry, Vikki, Addison, and Vikki's mom and dad, along with some of Henry's more impressive kills. Above those is a large portrait of Henry, posing next a monster of a bear, a pleased smile on his face. A coffee table sits on a paisley green carpet, along with some old (if a bit tacky) green furniture. On a nearby shelf sits a taxidermy hare and all along the walls hang antlers and stuffed head. On the other side of the one room cabin is a bookshelf and desk, and hanging from the ceiling in front of the door is comfy looking hammock.
The Vixen cries out for her sidekick!
...
But gets no reply...
The rest of the party soon enters.
DeVill imminently stumbles over to the couch and flops down massaging his his legs as he lets out a slight whimper.
Zulu stays out on the porch for a moment before coming in and tracing her eyes around the room.
Martha runs in behind The Vixen and says,
"Should we be just running into places like this?"
"seems safe. Cashara says. "so far.
"Its bait." Caledon says as he starts taking down the hammock.
The Vixen barely registers Martha’s words, or anyone’s. She runs over to the photos of her teenage self and Vikki. Her trembling hand caresses the photo of Vikki. Tears blur the image of her long dead friend.
Turning to the photo of Henry, she says, “Yer with Victoria now, Uncle. Tell her I never stopped loving her.” She then says something else in an eastern tongue. The foreign words aren’t choked by tears. They’re soft and angry.
Folding and throwing the hammock over his shoulde then moves quickly to the book shelf. He then tears the cover off one of the books, checking for a title as he does.
Next he rips a (the?) pair of antlers off the wall and snaps one antler off. He then uses the antler as an awl to punch a series of holes along the sides of the book cover.
Caledon then uses the brass dagger to cut two lengths of cordage from the hammock. He folds the book cover in half and threads one length of cordage through the holes to create a makeshift sheath for his brass dagger.
He attaches the makeshift sheath to the longer length of cordage which he ties around his waste like a belt.
"Who lit the lamp?"
The Vixen sees Cal moving, destroying… she trusts he knows what he’s doing. She can’t watch.
So she keeps her eyes on the pictures. She seems lost in one of Henry posing with a dead lion.
Cal asks who lit the lamp.
The Vixen says, “Sir Roars.”
Without pausing he uses same technique he constructed the 'sheath' to craft a bag with a shoulder straps out of the hammock and green rug.
Next he cuts the canvas out of Henry's portrait and stores it in his bag. With that done he starts cutting the curtains into long thin strips.
Caledon delivers a solid kick to the couch DeVill is sitting on.
"Your sitting on my lumber and metal springs."
"Sir Roars?"
VV explains, “It’s the lion in the photo. Vikki and I helped nurse him to health. He was tame, and…”
She removes the picture from above the mantle—
“…we were ten, and…”
—not to smash it onto the floor—
“…off-camera. Crying.”
—but to see what’s behind the picture.
Cashara is standing watch at the door, looking outside for any dangers, but staying near to the door.
she turns when asked who lit the lamp and at the hard kick to the couch.
as much as she disliked DeVill, he was a cripple. she gritted her teeth, at what was hard to say. but the lamp was an odd mater indeed.
"who knows what secrets a place like this may hold" Cashara says. "might do to check for secret doors, surveillance like devices, traps and the like."
she thinks for a moment.
"Cal, how long do you think it'll be as you MacGyver your things?" she asks. "because I want a pair of eyes out here, and I want this place searched."
The Vixen focuses her search mainly on what gave her an emotional response—after all, her strength comes from love and loss. She even goes so far to expect something awful behind the photo of the awful memory, and something dear under the endearing mat… which is the second place she’ll look.
"If you're going to search, do it quickly because I'm moving out."