Freyja stays at the grave a few moments longer than the others. She kneels. "They will pay for what they did to you. I swear it."
She lingers until she feels Mac's wet nose nudging her arm. She snaps out of her reverie, gives Mac a few pats on the head, and says, "Let's kill some hobs, Mac." She stands and follows the others.
You arrive back at camp just before full dark. You tell Aubrin about what you found. She clutches her holy symbol and shakes her head sadly. "I knew Gilida. She actually taught me some survival skills about ten years back. Hell of a trapper, and damn could she drink. Almost as much as me!" She looks around to ensure no one is listening. "Let's keep the details of her death between us, but I do think we need to tell everyone that the hobs are on this side of the river again."
Oona nods. "I agree. We need to keep a vigilant watch. We will be taking a trek tomorrow, where there's possible provisions. The tip came from mites pleading for their lives, so take that with a grain of salt, but it's worth a look." She takes her dinner and heads off to be alone for the night, deep in thought as she chews mechanically on her food. She barely tastes it as she considers the day's discoveries. Things are much more dangerous now; the camp will have to remain on high alert.
She goes to bed feeling uncomfortable and anxious.
|
Katia goes to bed barely eating anything; she gives most of her dinner to Mac, having little in the way of appetite. She can't get the image of Gilida's ravaged corpse out of her mind. Is that what's waiting for her? Can she expect such a gruesome end as well? Gilida was no warrior, and neither is she. What is she going to do with a handful of spells and hexes? She can't even make a damn antitoxin right.
She has not felt this sorry for herself since her mother died, over a decade ago. She hates feeling so powerless--and worse, useless. She stares at her long, thin fingers splayed out in front of her in the darkness before resting them on her cramping stomach. It's not her time of the month yet, so she knows that isn't it. It's fear, pure and simple. Unadulterated, leg-watering, stomach-clenching fear of not just death, but an awful, painful, horrid death at the hands of monsters.
She closes her eyes and tries to be as quiet as possible as she cries herself to sleep.
Freyja spends her evening helping Taidel and Lirosa with their shooting technique and working on her project until late into the night. When she finally puts head to pillow, it takes what feels like hours to fall asleep. Once asleep, her dreams are haunted by Gilida's ruined face.
The next morning is still oddly hot and humid. The camp is quiet and somber as news of the hobgoblins' reacquisition of this side of the river has spread. Aubrin spends her morning walking from group to group, making a point of speaking with each individual person during breakfast.
|
|
Katia drags her way through the morning like a walking corpse. Her face is still smeared with dirt, which has been bisected by blatant tear streaks. Her eyes are puffy and red, with noticeable bags. She says only a few monosyllabic phrases to anyone, sitting down before her harrow deck to try and meditate to restore the spell slot she used yesterday, but after several minutes, she realizes she doesn't have the energy. Her sleep wasn't restful enough to regain the lost magic.
She sits on a tree stump, bleary-eyed and nearly trance-like, waiting for the others to begin their trek.
Oona sets about putting everyone on tasks before they head out. She notices Katia's state, but decides not to press her for the moment. She has too much to do before they set out, anyway.
|
|
Katia watches Oona put all the people to work, pairing them up for hunting parties. She sees the oread pause at Corbin and Leila, as if questioning whether to put them back on herd duty, but it looks like she finally relents and gives the couple another chance.
The witch watches all of this happen with a vacant expression, as if she's not quite tuning in all the way.
Oona finishes setting tasks and joins the witch at the eastern edge of camp. "Ready, Katia?" She frowns. "Uhm... Katia?" She waves a hand in front of the young woman's face. Katia turns with a mildly irritated look and nods.
Oona sighs and shakes her head. Once Freyja is ready to go, she gathers Taidel and Lirosa and heads out into the wilderness once more.
You travel east for a few hours and eventually come upon an overgrown but obvious trail. You follow it for another ten minutes or so until you arrive at a clearing. Inside the clearing is a cabin!
Oona readies her scythe, eyes open. She glances to Taidel and Lirosa. "Stay here," she mutters quietly. "Keep your eyes open and bows ready."
She moves forward as quietly as possible.
Sensing his companion's alertness, Mac's ears perk up, and he pads alongside her as silently as possible.
You begin walking down the path toward the cabin. You barely move ten feet before you see a streak of black fur and claws dash out of the woods and set upon Oona. Its teeth sink into her side and its paws wrap around her body .
Oona (20/29 hp, grappled)
Mac (24/24 hp)
Cat (0 damage, grappled, -2 AC from charge [1 round])
Freyja (31/31 hp)
Katia (25/25 hp)
Bold may act.
Snarling, Oona drops her scythe; it's useless now that she's tangled up with the beast. She pulls out a dagger instead. "Get this thing off me before rips my guts out!" she snaps. She reaches out with her free hand to touch Mac, passing the blessing of Magdh into him.
Mac needs no urging; his companion is clearly in danger from a fellow predator. He leaps at the lynx and snaps viciously at it.
Imagine this scene. Oona, covered in blood, has a big cat wrapped around her, ready to claw the shit out of her. A big dog flies into frame, all saliva and growls, clamps down on the cat's hind leg with his jaws and YANKS, trying to pull the cat off his master. Instead, the cat's death grip holds and Mac ends up pulling both the cat and Oona to the ground, barely avoiding getting landed on.
Then, just as Oona is bracing for a flurry of puncture wounds, the force from hitting the ground momentarily releases her from its grip . It bites her again while they both are on the ground but this time it can't quite get its paws around her. Then, its plans ruined, it stands up.
Oona (12/29 hp, prone)
Mac (24/24 hp)
Cat (4 damage, prone)
Freyja (31/31 hp)
Katia (25/25 hp)
Bold may act, and Oona and Mac can take AOOs.
Freyja's first instinct was to try to calm the beast, but seeing how hurt Oona is after just a few seconds, she realizes it's a lost cause. Shaking her head, she moves into a more advantageous position and looses an arrow.
The cat stands. Oona stabs with her dagger but the awkward angle from the ground makes a hit impossible. Mac is able to land another bite, and then Freyja's arrow embeds itself deep in its chest. It falls.
|
|
Katia watched in horror, limbs too sluggish to move, as the wild cat leaps out of the brush and begins mauling the oread. Fear seized her chest, but before she could even try to overcome it, the battle was over.
Now she stands, dumbstruck, staring at the dead lynx. "I... I'm sorry," she says in a quiet, hoarse voice. "I froze."
She begins wandering numbly toward the building.
Oona stands, clutching her bleeding stomach, and puts a bloody hand on Katia's shoulder to stop her. "Wait. We will go together." The witch doesn't protest, just stands there staring at the dead lynx.
Oona places a hand on her gut and sends healing energy into the wounds, surprised to find the spell slightly more powerful than it was before.
Freyja drops her bow and rushes to the lynx's side. "She's bleeding! Can either of you keep her from dying? I think she was just scared and protecting her territory."
Oona looks incredulously at Freyja, then down at the dying wildcat. She frowns, considering, then sighs.
"I shall do you one better. But... I hope you can contain her. Mac, stay back." The wolf whines but steps back behind Katia and sits. She leans down and touches the lynx, sending healing energy through her.
Too late Freyja realizes what Oona is doing. "No, wait! I don't think I can..." The lynx's eyes open and focus on Freyja. She tries to hold it down.
She was not prepared for the lynx to be brought back to consciousness and it wriggles out of her grasp and stands. This time it does not attack immediately, though, fearful of how quickly this group brought it down. It stands its ground, hissing and spitting at Freyja.
Freyja reaches in her pack and pulls out a piece of pork jerky that Jet had made for them to take exploring. She cautiously holds it out. "It's okay. We don't want to hurt you."
The lynx looks at Freyja. Its eyes are ... sad? It takes a step forward and sniffs the pork, looks at Freyja again, then snatches it from her grasp and runs away into the woods.
Freyja stands, picks up her bow, and returns to the party. "Thank you, Oona. There is something about that cat... I don't think it is a wild animal. I don't know why but I can sense it. Maybe there are some answers in this house."
Oona watches the animal vanish into the woods. They could have used that meat, but... She shakes her head. It's too small to offer much food, and besides. She gets the distinct impression that Freyja needed that.
She steps over to the ranger and gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Come. Let's see what this building has to offer."
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.
Oona moves up to the front door, Mac padding silently at her side. The wolf seems... thicker, somehow. Sturdier.
The oread looks cautiously around the doorway before stopping and motioning Freyja over. "I doubt if the building has defenses still up, if the mites got in, but perhaps we should check the door just in case. You have the best eyes of us."
Oona turns from Freyja to Katia in alarm, and says in a quiet, sharp voice, "Katia! Are you... floating??"
"STOP!" Freyja yells at Mac just as Katia notices the same glint of metal in the grass. "Oona, there is a bear trap right where Mac is about to step. Have him walk around it." She approaches the door. "And this door has an arrow trap on it as well. Let me see if I can..." She trails off as she pulls a set of thieves' tools from her pack. She looks up self-consciously as she works. "Don't ask me how I know how to do this."
There is a loud click, followed by Freyja saying, "Damn..."
An arrow fires out from a slot in the door and takes Freyja high in the chest, knocking her back into Oona . "Well. That's embarrassing. Help me get this arrow out, Oona? It's not as bad as it looks."
Oona holds Mac in place. When Freyja stumbles back into her, Oona helps her stand upright bemusedly. "This will not feel very good."
She yanks out the arrowhead and immediately presses a hand to the ranger's chest to staunch the bleeding, pouring healing energy into the wound.
Freyja lets out a whimper when the arrow comes out, followed by a relieved moan when Oona heals the wound. "Thank you again. The good news is the door is safe now." She takes a step back and readies her bow.
Katia doesn't see anything of note on the other side of the cabin.
Oona nods, readies her scythe, and steps into the building, taking a look around. Mac follows in behind her, avoiding the weird metal mouth on the ground.
Oona and Mac enter the cabin. They take a few steps forward and a figure rushes out of the shadows in the corner, slamming its fists down on Mac .
Mac momentarily looks a bit woozy but he shakes it off.
The figure looks like it used to be a half-elf. It is dressed in light armor and a fur-lined cloak. The smell is terrible, the stench of death. The flesh has rotted away in places, exposing the skeleton underneath. Its eyes glow red and it groans angrily at the intrusion.
Freyja (42/42 hp)
Oona (26/38 hp)
Mac (31/36 hp)
Creature (0 damage, -2 AC from charge [1 round])
Katia
Bold may act.
Oona hisses and calls, "Wight! He'll sap your life essence, don't let him hit you!"
While Mac offers a distraction, she slashes at it with her scythe.
As the wight turns its attention against the incoming scythe, Mac goes for its leg, trying to clamp down and pull the creature to the ground.
Freyja hears Oona's warning about the creature and suppresses a shudder. She steps inside the doorway and lets an arrow fly.
This party is becoming a well-oiled machine. Oona puts her scythe blade into its chest and pushes, while Mac grabs it by the leg and pulls. It falls to the ground, where Freyja's arrow pierces its eye socket. Its one remaining red eye's glow fades.
Oona breathes a sigh of relief and moves further into the room, searching for anything useful.