Orcs of the endless and unconquered Forest (IC)

[Sutremaine]

"Thank you, Rada. You should be careful as well. The gnolls have taken Krunnar with magic and done something odd to their tracks -- who knows what other tricks they have?" Maybe the gnolls had been less careful with their trail from the attack on the pinkskin camp. He jogged over to Sorunnar. "Sorunnar, who are the best trackers not going with the rescue party? I'd like to look at the tracks that the gnolls left in their attack on the camp. Perhaps those are more honest."

Spoiler

Show

Er, did we get round to healing up the hunters?

[Kantolin]

Smith nodded.

It then took him a minute to realize that he'd been apologized to. He paused for a moment to think - what had been said that was offensive?

Whatever. He had running to do. He placed his tower shield on his back, and began hoofing it to the best of his ability.

Spoiler

Show

If necessary and if there's time to do so, Smith can take off his armour so he can keep up. If there are enough pauses and switchbacks that this is moot, then I guess he doesn't have to. Either way. :P

[Re'ozul]

Tracking Group:

The trail becomes ever stranger as you go beyond the edge of the camp. You falter for a moment as it appears to go into a tree, but a short search reveals it coming out of it again at an angle. This repeats too often to count. It appears that whatever allows the Gnoll to move in this regard, it knows how to utilize the fact to its advantage.
This ability to simply disregard usually hindering terrain, makes your job harder than you'd want as you are gaining on your target far slower than would be ever be the case otherwise. However, after 20 minutes, when you are sure you are only perhaps 5 minutes behind the gnoll, the trail stops, pawprints transforming into an indent in the soft earthen floor as if the gnoll had stumbled and fallen. No prints go further.

Kusque:

You make haste through the trees towards the edge. Your amulet allows you greater speed than before, but you are still some way out. However, you must come to a decision now, for your further path. Move directly towards the camp lead by the pink-skin you know as "Anders" or attempt to scout for the camp that the gnolls had attacked.

Spoiler

Show

Since Sorunnar told you that the Gnolls had attacked a camp before you made contact with Ander's and as such it is unlikely that they were one and the same.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

<This ability resembles the druidic ability to pass unimpaired through nature, like I can, it is a rather basic ability, though this shows our quarry is a caster, either that or a rather skilled ranger. I'd think the trail is lost because he transformed into some other creature, I'd think something that flies, see if you can find animal prints, I could figure out what it turned into if he left a sign.>

Spoiler

Show

2nd level druid ability:
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a druid may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.

Also, rangers get that ability at 7th level.

I think Grazik could realize that, if it is that ability because he has it.

[Re'ozul]

@ Grazik

Spoiler

Show

That is a viable conclusion for your character to come to.

[GnomeGninjas]

Mal searches for animal prints. If not for the wierd tracks he would be very dubious of the "turned into something" theory.

Spoiler

Show

(1d20+14)[17]

[Re'ozul]

@ Mal

Spoiler

Show

You find lots of animal prints, but most are at least several hours old. All of them originate from somewhere else and there are no prints in the indent at the end of the gnoll trail.
You do however find a single pair of very small humanoid footprints. Though they are hard to determine precisely as they are very shallow, and barely noticable. Right in front of them is a tiny hole in the ground.

[Winds]

Spoiler

Show

Conclusions based on things Gell would *probably* know. If this is invalid, let me know.

First assumption: That Gell would be able to comment on the particulars of magical vs. nonmagical trackless stride, since he has the nonmagical.

Second assumption: That Gell noticed this during the combat with the gnolls-

Mal [...] letting loose an arrow of light that at first appears to strike true. However, as it impacts the gnoll's shape distorts, flaring out into a cloud of shadow around the impact area your arrow passing through harmlessly and impacting the ground. The shadowy tendrils on the gnoll's form quickly undulate and reform as you now see the gnoll in a slightly different posture than moments before.

Gell would, I assume, have noticed this since he targeted the same gnoll that round.

Gell steps out of Mal's way while he searches.

<I'm not sure. I can walk without leaving a trace, but that's just putting my feet in the right places and so on. This isn't the same. I thought I saw one of the gnolls we fought earlier have Mal's arrow go though without hurting it. Do you think that could be the same thing that's happening here?>

[Sutremaine]

Kusque halted at a sharp curve in the narrow track. To his right it continued, weaving towards the pinkskin camp. Straight on it led into a denser patch of trees, deeper into the forest where the gnolls were hiding. He wondered if this camp would be the next to be attacked. Certainly if the others thoroughly wiped out the band that had attacked them, it would take one aggressive group out of the picture... but that approach wouldn't work for long, or for the rest of even the gnoll bands.

Well, no sense in standing around here. He needed to get at least one camp (and how many were there, chipping away at mother-forest's edges?) on their side. Breaking into a steady jog, he headed right.

Spoiler

Show

Did I get a tracker to go with me? We cut straight to the current situation after I asked Sorunnar about taking someone with me. Even if I'm not tracking from Anders' camp itself since it wasn't the one attacked, I could try and get some information about where the other human camps are and start from there.

Oh, and I guess I dismissed the elemental to move more quickly. That takes an hour to be resummonable once it's dissolved.

[GnomeGninjas]

There's a tiny humanoid tracks. Orc tracks? There is also a hole in front of them. It doesn't make sense. Mal remembers the stories he heard about tiny malevolent spirits and is afraid.

[Re'ozul]

@ Kusque

Spoiler

Show

You do have a tracker with you and he is wheezing, trying to keep up with you.

[Sutremaine]

Spoiler

Show

Oh dear, poor guy...

Kusque looked behind him, and stopped again. The tracker who'd volunteered to accompany him to the camp was looking rough, wheezing as he tried to keep up with Kusque and his magical augmentations. He scratched behind his ear with a fingertip, and felt a little embarrassed. "Ah... my apologies." He unpinned the brooch and waited for the other man to catch up. "Here, take this until we're close to the camp." He offered the brooch.

Spoiler

Show

Assuming he started out with a 30ft speed, that puts us at a more even 45ft to 50ft.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

<Zalgrin, try to track by scent, see if you can follow the trial. Anyone else, try to help, Mal, see if your tiger can.> He removes an amulet from his neck and puts it around Zalgrin's. "Go."

Spoiler

Show

Giving Zalgrin my Periapt of Wisdom +4 to boost his track, everyone that can, try aid another.

Zalgrin's survival: (1d20+14)[18] + aid another results.

Grazik will attempt to aid another (doesn't have the feat so he might not be allowed to do so, though he is a trained hunter, and is trained in survival, meaning that he might be able to [fluff wise, even if it isn't allowed mechanically]). (1d20+17)[21].

[Re'ozul]

@ Grazik

Spoiler

Show

Looking at the small footprints, you also notice that an adjacent fern seems to have been bent and ruffled as if hit lightly very often. The small hole in front of the footprints has four markings going towards the deepest points in a cross shape.
Alltogether, it looks like a small winged biped landed here, pulled out an arrow from the ground, then started flying again.

The only beings that you know off who have this form and use arrows are Pixies. It would also explain the indent at the end of the trail. Pixies are able to become invisible and tend to shoot enemies with sleep-inducing arrows. So they could have easily snuck up on the Gnoll.

Meanwhile, Zalgrin has caught scent of both Gnoll and what must be Krunnar. There are also several minor scents moving in the same direction as those two, they are going straight north.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

"Come this way, due north." Zalgrin says an motions for the others to follow. "The disturbances in the ground I believe where made by pixies, who shot at the Gnoll with a sleep arrow. I am not sure what else happened."

[Man on Fire]

"Great, just what we needed, Pixies. Well, nothing we can do about it, lets go guys." Rada gives everybody signal to head in direction given by Grazik.

[GnomeGninjas]

Mal is glad that someone understands what happened and he silently obeys Grazik.

[Kantolin]

Smith has been managing to keep up, given the halts, and continues following relatively silently.

[Re'ozul]

Tracking Group

Following the scent in the air, your pursuit is somewhat slowed. Furthermore, with the target now travelling by air, you have to move across all the ups and downs of the forest while they don't. However, you neither seem to gain or lose on your target, the trail of scent leading you straight towards "The Broken Glade".

@ Gell (non-roll knowledge)

Spoiler

Show

The broken Glade is a place about 1.5 miles in diameter that you are strongly advised to stay out of by anyone in the tribe. The Landscape doesn't behave normally inside it.

@ Grazik (non-roll knowledge)

Spoiler

Show

The broken Gade is actually only one instance of a phenomenon quite prevalent in mother forest. It is a nexus of magic that is so complex and strong, that it overwrites the normal rules of reality to a degree. The closer one moves towards the center of the glade, the more land is encountered, sometimes entire other forests. However, the further one goes inwards in this way, the more the terrain is altered in ways that should not be possible. Sometimes driving the wanderer insane. Due to this some of the more elusive forest dwellers, such as the fey and several kinds of abberations, have made their home in these areas, as they are better capable of coping with the unreal.

Kusque:

Now somewhat slower due to giving your amulet to the hunter with you, you still make good time towards the edge. As you arrive at about the same place as you did yesterday, you can make out the pink-skins once again, hacking away at the trees. The armored beings are again stalking back and forth along the edge, but there seem to be at least twice as many as yesterday. It also seems there are pairs of quiver and bow leaning against several felled trees close to the workers. All workers are once again wearing their glowing armbands.
You move along the edge in the safety of the underbrush for a few minutes until you find Anders. He, like the rest, is hacking at a tree.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

<They're going to the Broken Glade, this area is dangerous, magical energy causes the land to warp, the farther in you go, the more you find, possibly from a different forest. Fey and Aberrations tend to dwell here due to there greater ability to handle the unreal. Should we go on?>

Grazik looks troubled, but he keeps his other thoughts to himself.

[Sutremaine]

Spoiler

Show

About how far are we away from them all? If I can be within 30ft when one of them is talking, I can pick up on the language. I expect they're not saying very much at the moment though. (not-actually-an-edit:) I think I'll activate the Tongues ability just in case anyway.

And the brooch takes up the neck slot?

Kusque bared his teeth at the sight before him, not sure whether anger or nausea was the dominant feeling. He'd arranged their second meeting for nightfall, but now he had to watch what they were all doing. He wondered how the hunter was feeling -- hopefully not the same way Mal had felt yesterday. "Stay calm. It looks like they know about the other camp..."

The two of them skirted around the workers until he saw Anders, who was butchering a youngish tree with smooth bark and long feathery leaves. Kusque tried not to notice. "Hm." Hesitating a little, he raised a finger and brushed across the scrolls, and willed the amulet to cast its spell. He needed to know what all of them were saying, not just the ones almost in touching distance.

He backed off almost into the deeper cover of the trees, motioning for the hunter to follow, and gave a quick piercing whistle. "Anders!" he called out, and waited for a reaction.

[GnomeGninjas]

Mal is scared, still he knows that he must act brave. We go on, we cannot let abertatians or fey stop us. We must save our tribesmate.

[Winds]

Gell grimaces at Grazik's explanation. <Agreed. We need to do this, but...I don't like what it could mean that gnolls have been living there. The place is dangerously strange.>

[Man on Fire]

Rada turned to her entire group.
"you all heard old geezer. I won't blame any of you if you refuse to go with us. it's not something I can demand from you. But one of my brothers has been kidnapped and is there, at the mercy of Gnolls, Fey and Mother Forest only knows what else. I won't let him alone. Who's afraid, go back to the camp and tell the eldres about everything. Who's not, follow me!" She proclaims and turns to enter The Broken Glade.

[Kantolin]

What could the fae be doing with the gnoll?

Was it teamwork, or foolishness? Gnoll weren't type who'd team up with other people, so likely the latter - but you couldn't be sure.

And this area effected magic poorly. Smith was about to ask Grazik if it'd bother psionics, but that was his job to know... so he'd find out.

Silently, he kept moving.

[Re'ozul]

Tracking group:

You arrive at the edge of the glade after about another fifteen minutes. The trees simply stop, much like they did at the pinkskin's edge of the forest, but here there are no felled trees, no ground mudded up by being trodden on. The trees, bushes and ferns simply stop and go no further. In front of you a vast plain of grass stretches in seemingly all directions.
The Glade's outer circumference indicates that it should be only one and a half miles in diameter, but then you should be able to see the trees on the other side, yet you don't. In fact, even attempting to look at the trees along the edge is disconcerting. Close to your position they seem fin, but the farther away you look, the wider they seem to get. their crowns starting to bend towards you until they seem so far away that they are become close too close to the ground to make out.
Stepping over the edge onto the grass, it feels as if thousands of ants march over you. There does not seem to be any other effect however.

@ Grazik

Spoiler

Show

You can feel Zalgrin snort as the Gnoll's scent suddenly transforms somewhat, a previously existent part of it becoming much more pronounced. The fey scents also experience a dramatic increase in strenght, their number now making them much easier to follow than the Gnoll's. The only scent constant is Krunnar's it seems. As expected, the trace still leads towards the "center" of the Glade.

@ All

Spoiler

Show

Did I miss you guys taking some hunters with you on your tracking? If so 2 of them (the youngest and most inexperienced) will go back to report, the rest coming with you.

Kusque:

At your whistle and call, Anders' head snaps up and he halts his swing for a split second before going on. Yet he changes his posture and nods in your direction. A few minutes later, he calls yout to the others and is met with laughter by them. One of the armored ones comes over and motions to the bow and arrows, which Anders takes and moves into the forest in your direction. As he reaches your position he again nods at you and moves further in. He stops at about three hundred feet behind the edge.

@ Kusque

Spoiler

Show

You never got clser than maybe 100feet.
The brooch doesn't take up a slot, but it needs to be on top of whatever your wearing and the pin needs to work. So, leather/hide armor okay, chainmail, scale,plate not so much.

[Sutremaine]

Spoiler

Show

Ah, that's something of a problem then... It's already proved itself in-game to work over a chain shirt.

Also, how many orcs are there in the tribe? What about the numbers of the other races? Are there any other known gnoll bands in the area?

Kusque nodded at Anders. "I assume from the extra guards that you're expecting an attack. A band of gnolls came to one of our outposts this morning and bragged about how they'd fought with one of your cutting camps. They also attacked us, which made establishing our diplomatic position much easier." He paused for a moment, considering how much to say about the balance of power within Mother-Forest. "That particular band won't be troubling you again, though I appreciate that's small comfort for any camps of yours far away from our territory. Unlike us however, the gnolls are not a unified people, and care more about the immediate profits of their raiding than the long-term consequences. I came here to warn you about the chance of an attack, now that it's a real possibility, but it seems that the information has been passed on."

[GnomeGninjas]

Has anyone been here before? Is this normal? Mal is freaking out though trying not to show it, trees should not behave this way, niether should eyes. Everything is wrong.

[Kantolin]

<Huh!>

Smith again accidentally sent what was meant to be a personal thought through the collective the moment he stepped in - and the link flickered, for just an instant. He in no way expected that particular response - he glanced down at himself, reacting as though he'd stepped on an anthill.

It was just for a moment, before he was mentally cursing himself. Damnit! Keep it together.

<Just a trick.> He responded, to Mal. <It doesn't seem to be altering the link.>

[Winds]

Gell looks away from the tree edge as much as possible.

<I don't know. Everyone is told to stay away from the place, because the landscape changes. Let's get this done as fast as we can. I can speak Sylvan, can any of you?>