The remaining mites scatter like cockroaches when Ferieth releases the entangling plants. You feel certain that with your show of dominance the mites won't come back here anytime soon.
Ignoring Darry's offering, the mom-wolf snarls a warning to any who approach her as she moves to her pup, grabs it by the scruff and drags it back to its hideout.
"Looks like this is the den to a small wolfpack. They're probably out hunting, the mother stayed back to take care of her cub. We'll want to put some distance between us and here before we stop for the night."
"Sorry ol pal. No new girlfriend for you eh? already has a pack."
He said with a chuckle patting Sebastion on the side. He was joking of course, but he was glad that they had helped the pack even as they were moving on. He collected his gear, poked about the bodies of the mites in case they had anything interesting on them, and once more joined in his spot in the caravan.
With Fareith orienting herself (with a little help with the others), she pointed the direction and your company started out again.
Again, the thick forest is confusing, with many gullies, thorny brambles, house sized brambles and insect ridden marshes.
But right around noon, you stumble over the clear wagon ruts marking the rough road leading east from Phaendar to Tamran some 150 or so miles away over difficult, bandit and monster haunted forest.
Taking a little break, the trackers among you poke about looking for what they can find.
Perhaps more mysteriously, there are the tracks of more than a dozen domestic beasts; cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, emus etc. Creatures that would not last very long in the wild forest hereabouts.
From here, Faerith determines the path to the redoubt of the Chernasardo Rangers leads South.
"Looks like there are more refugees, a few people, halflings and humans, along with some livestock. The redoubt of the Chernasardo Rangers leads this way." Fareith says pointing to the South.
The elf says nothing, but starts moving in that direction.
Yaron thinks aloud, "Sounds like more refugees. That would imply the Gobbies have hit other towns."
Arlen is unable to find the tracks Faerieth points out. "Really? Which way are they headed? West to east?" Arlen looks longingly at the woods to the east. "Should we go after them to gather them to us? Or try to find them after we get help from the rangers? How old are the tracks?"
"Since the last rain yesterday, moving in a hurry and either badly or unshod altogether. So desperate and unlikely to have gotten very far." Faerieth replies. "We'd likely have a pretty good chance of overtaking them, and maybe leading them to the rangers, rather than leaving them to die out here. The livestock will attract predators like flies to carrion."
"Let's go after them and bring them to the rangers. I don't want to see more of our people suffer and die."
”Agreed. We need whatever intelligence they have and perhaps they have resources we can combine ours with.”
"More than that, we're their best chance of making it through more than the next day or two alive." Faerieth says turning to lead them all after the tracks.
Yaron nods, "I agree."
Sor nods quietly.
"Come on then" Arlen says before plunging after the trail with Russet
Following the traces along the track, you move several miles before sundown forces you to camp.
Arlen considers the animals for a moment before saying "We have to leave them. I think. They will slow is down too much, and we cannot open them in the forest without dooming them to death by predators. Hopefully we will be able to pick them up later."
”The goats are hardy and reproduce like rabbits. If the cow is giving milk it will need to relived and we could sure use renewable food sources.”
”With all these townfolk we aren’t moving that fast anyway.”
”We are going to have to silence those bells though.”
Yaron shrugs, "I know goats can forage anywhere, which makes them useful - but I've no idea about caring for them. I do think it would be worth having them at camp... wherever that ends up being. I wonder if we could hide them in a cave and seal it off against predators - keeping them safe until we can come back for them."
"They would definitely help with the supply issue, and goats can survive off of almost anything." Faerieth adds. "Assuming the farmer they belong to isn't present, if they are they'd be safer with us in the long-run, we can gather and herd them on the way back to the townsfolk."
A mile past the farm animals, your trackers see that the trail veers off the roadway onto a game path leading north into the deep forest again.
Another mile, and you come to a clearing.
A wooden cabin, small and square, stands in a clearing dotted with tree stumps.
Someone has deforested this area to make room for the structure, leaving only tall grass to carpet the clearing.
A jumble of poles near the cabin serves as a rack for drying animal hides or fish.
No smoke issues from the chimney.
You can rearrange your formation at the bottom of the map before easing forward to the tree line.
"dont want to spook the fellow who lives 'ere eh? Sebastion and I can ride up, we can be pretty nonthreatening."
The pint sized cavalier offered reaching forward to pat Sebastion between his ears.
Arlen shakes his head. "I'm going to knock on the door." He says to them.
If no one stops him, he calmly approaches the door and knocks on it.
Big John looks at Faerieth and shrugs.
”Darry, maybe work around back in case someone bolts?”
He moves to follow Arlen intending to back him up if needed. You
Big John was thinking to himself why a small group of people would abandon their animals then split up in the face of danger. Was this lone person a survivor? Or a lone scout for the enemy.
His suspicious nature nagging at him to use caution, he scanned the area looking for clues or traps.
Big John placed a ham sized palm on Arlen’s shoulder. The big man holds up a finger pleading for a moments pause then points two fingers at his eyes and cups an ear, hoping to indicate to look and listen first.
His eyes look around trying to find the elf whom he believed was the best of all of them at reading the situation.
"this doesn't make sense. One person left the group and headed into this place. Which means he either abandoned them to their fate, or slipped them. That's clearly been lived in and the person heading here the track show that they were tired." Faereith says quietly studying their surroundings.
[Ooc] Autosucceed on the Survival check [/b]
"There are more charitable possibilities" Arlen counters, but he waits instead, allowing the others to do their scouting.
"Alright then, come on boy, lets see whats behind the place."
He began using the woodline to skirt around behind the building keeping his eyes and ears opened but more torwards the house.
and scent
You identify the scratches as belonging to a lynx or bobcat, but that marking trees or howling are atypical behaviors for either species.
"All the signs of a lynx, or a bobcat...except they don't usually mark trees or randomly howl." Faerieth whispers, shifting her staff in her hands.
Yaron asks, "Could it be some sort of diseased animal?"
"Possibly, whatever it is, it's definitely a predator, so stay alert." the druidess whispers as they move closer.
Big John raises his heavy crossbow leveling it towards the structure.
He listens intently.
”Whomever or whatever it is must know we are here by now.”
With a yowl, not one, but threeLynx explode out of the underbrush!
The first one pounces on Darry,
for a possible plus Grab.
for a possible .
for a possible .
for a possible .
for a possible .
The second one pounced on Big John,
for a possible plus Grab.
for a possible .
for a possible .
for a possible .
for a possible .
The third one pounced on Sor.
for a possible plus Grab.
for a possible .
for a possible .
for a possible .
for a possible .
Round 1_________________________
Players take their turn in order of posting, enemies will go last.
”Gwarrr! Son of ah!”, Big John bellers out as the lynx gets a claw into him.
His anger flares into a rage. QuickDrawing his hatchet he seeks to sweep the cat off his body and fling its carcass back towards where it lept from.
Spirts of malicious cherubs manifest and stream about the big man’s form before slamming into the cat.
"Silly cat coming into a dog fight."
The cavalier chuckled to hide the initial nervousness that the sudden attack had brought. His armor and reactions had held enough to let him get his shield in place to avoid any harm from the creature. He thought about trying to just fend it off in case Miss Faerieth had a way to like talk to them or the like, but then he remembered he was a good distance from the others and that plan would be silly if the cat took a chunk out of him.
"Get em Sebastion."
He ordered instead pulling out his axe and taking a measured swipe at the lynx.
Yaron raises his bow and steps back, snapping off a shot at the lynx that's pounced on Sor.
for
Arlen directs Russet to flank with Big John as he steps SW towards the other lynx and opens fire with an arrow.
Russet comes barreling in to flanking position with his antlers lowered.